07-07-2025 JDA Work Session Packet

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4 continued on page 98 4 Apartments developed by Sherman Associates and JO Companies and designed by Kaas Wilson Architects will use water- based loops connected to heat pumps for heating and cooling. Rendering by Kaas Wilson Architects. maximize solar energy production, she adds. Ever-Green Energy plans to connect as many as 10 commercial and multifamily buildings to a networked aquifer thermal energy system it will build and help operate. It’s the right approach for The Heights, says Luke Gaalswyk, president and CEO of Ever- Green and its parent company, District Energy St. Paul, because the site plan packs housing, offices, and industrial buildings together, leaving little land for ground-source geothermal, which requires dozens of wells. Last year, the nonprofit The Heights Community Energy landed the first loan administered by the state’s green bank—the Minnesota Climate Innovation Finance Authority (page 34)—to begin building the system. The $4.7 million loan went toward the purchase of piping and other supplies. “This will be our first network geothermal system and our first deployment of aquifer thermal energy storage,” says Gaalswyk. Such aquifer thermal systems have been used in Western Europe for decades yet remain relatively new in the U.S. With federal tax credits, Gaalswyk says the cost of the networked geothermal system is competitive with fossil-fuel-based district energy. TKDA designed Xcel Energy’s new service center and adjacent fleet building. TKDA project manager Craig Coil says the lack of space for a traditional geothermal system and design loads drove the decision to use Darcy’s technology. “An aquifer system was the only way to achieve the building loads required for the project,” says Coil. Twelve Darcy wells will provide heating and cooling for the 339,000-square-foot service center and 30,500-square-foot fleet building. Coil says that a large rooftop solar installation—1.16 megawatts—will provide much of the energy needed for the project, which is designed to achieve LEED Silver certification. The other big piece of The Heights is multifamily housing developed by Sherman Associates and JO Companies and designed by Kaas Wilson Architects. Port Authority real estate director Kristine Williams says she believes at least two apartment buildings and another industrial structure will begin construction this year and join the district energy system. Kaas Wilson Architects operations vice president Nick Conniff, AIA, says the apartment designs will optimize building envelopes and use water- based loops connected to heat pumps for heating and cooling. “The Heights design guidelines have an energy use target that’s 50 percent better than any current energy code in the country, and geothermal is going to get us there,” he says. Collin Kaas, AIA, partner at Kaas Wilson Architects, says passive building strategies will help meet the project’s net-zero target, with the added benefit of saving residents money on utility costs. “The exciting thing for us is that we’re always striving to create affordable housing even if it’s not labeled as affordable,” he says. About half of the businesses interested in locating at The Heights highlight the net-zero goal, with the other half citing the location. “Some of them say, ‘this is great new space in St. Paul, and we want to be in this location,’ and others say, ‘this is a great development I’d like to be part of,’” 412025 | ENTER MAGAZINE402025 | ENTER MAGAZINE