Tony's Story
Pipefitters work a lot in the fossil fuel industry so we think a lot about how we can transition the work we do to be carbon free. Three years ago we started looking into geothermal.
We need longer term work which is why we’re looking into these alternatives. Power plants closing down puts a lot of people out of work with nothing to replace it, and solar and wind don’t provide long-term work for our workers. It’s going to take real investments to transition from fossil fuels. The jobs that are going to be lost are good paying jobs. From our workers there’s a lot of “What’s gonna happen to us?” type thing. All the trades are trying to find ways to fit into the future.
We put in a system at our Local 455 facility because it’s the right thing to do but also because it provides stable work. This system takes an exchanger pump and places it in an aquifer, which cools the water in the summer and warms it in the winter, because the aquifer maintains a constant 50 degrees. It uses potable water, so the aquifer is protected.
The cost to drill and install this new kind of hydronic heating and cooling system is less or comparable to the cost of a chiller. It reduces air conditioning costs annually because you’re only paying to pump the water through. This system is much more cost effective than other geothermal systems – we only had to drill four wells compared to what would normally be 70 to 80. We were able to keep the parking lot intact whereas other systems would have torn the entire thing up.
I’m a 23 year member of the pipefitters union. I joined in 1998, mostly doing industrial work as a welder with 3Ms power plants and refineries. I’ve served on the Local 455 executive board and have been manager for almost 3 years
