Geothermal energy could save
Hunts Point millions: study
BY ALEX MITCHELL
Hunts Point is poised to
embrace an effi cient energy
system that could save over
$6 million per year…courtesy
of Mother Nature.
Installing a geothermal
system in Hunts Point would
leverage the energy absorbing
capacity of the earth,
bringing significant economic
impact to the area
while slashing greenhouse
gas rates in the process, according
to a recently published
report by the NYC
Economic Development Corporation
and the research
non-profit Urban Land Institute
New York.
“New York City hinges on
the viability and reliability
of the Hunts Point Food Distribution
Center, a network
of distribution businesses
located on the Hunts Point
Peninsula in the Bronx that
handles 4.5 billion pounds of
food fl ow each year,” the Hurricane
Sandy- inspired study
stated as the reason for the
A diagram of Hunts Point from the geothermal study. NYCEDC
proposed project’s signifi -
cance.
ULI began surveying the
mostly industrial area in
March, fi nding that the geothermal
system might “also
assist in aligning residents
and businesses around the
shared benefi ts of improved
energy infrastructure and
green infrastructure in
Hunts Point.”
Hunts Point Landing is
the key in taking this concept
from an idea to a more practical
phase. To do so, the agencies
would need to: locate a
pumping station at the peninsula’s
edge, expand Hunts
Point Landing Park, while
subsequently creating a signature
building to house the
pumping station, utilizing
the existing 24-foot underwater
box culvert at Hunts Point
Landing for a point of entry,
then analyze the depths of
the East River channel for
the project’s pipeline, and
last but not least, lay the
foundation of the geothermal
delivery system down Hunts
Point Avenue to serve as the
‘tree’ from which energy can
branch to serve the meat
market, fi sh market, produce
market, residential core and
even beyond that, the study
indicates.
Once those few minor details
are completed, the system
would use the heat the
earth releases to warm indoor
air during the cold
winter months and remove
heat during the hot summer
months, particularly in the
market.
Out of the three markets
in the distribution center,
the meat market siphons off
a majority of the entire complex’s
energy, the study indicates.
“Many discussions centered
around how to make
Hunts Point a healthier environment,
particularly given
that the neighborhood has
one of the highest asthma
rates in the region,” according
to the study.
Common goals for that include:
improving air quality;
reducing emissions, particularly
from the diesel trucks
idling in the produce market
year round for days at a time,
providing and protecting access
to the water, specifi cally
to the Bronx and East rivers;
promoting a healthy environment.
public processes; and
making visible the benefi ts
to the community.
Currently, the distribution
center exerts roughly
11.3 megawatts of power and
is projected to grow up to 24
megawatts in future years.
If the geothermal system
is installed, “NYC EDC and
the food distribution center
would no longer need to tap
the market to purchase more
energy, likely resulting in a
signifi cant avoidance of future
energy purchases.”
A similar-sized installation
in Alaska footed an $80
million bill and took fi ve
years to complete construction,
the study showed.
BRONX TIMES REPORTER, SEPTEMBER 1 BTR 3-19, 2019 7