FOXe: Brooklyn Park Hockey Rinks Go Green

BROOKLYN PARK, Minn. - In Minnesota, all-year ice rinks are a part of our hockey culture, but they're also costly to maintain. The city of Brooklyn Park is working on a one of a kind project to keep the rinks cool and cut down on energy costs.

The community center's two ice rinks will be cooled using untreated water from a city well, at least that's how it starts.

"We using the raw water to go to the treatment plant already, so to have another use for it, are just a benefit," said Brooklyn Park Central Services Superintendent Steve Lawrence.

The water will travel in underground pipes to a heat exchanger to cool off. The water will finally end up back at the community center, where it will be chilled even more, to keep the ice rinks cool.

"By using the city water we can cool the refrigeration system much lower than we typically can which makes the system much more efficient,” said Project Director Mark Rasmussen.

The city spends about $150,000 a year to cool the two ice rinks at the community center. The geothermal project is expected to save $60,000 a year and cut the amount of energy used in half. The geothermal project also makes it possible to recycle heat from the cooling system, to keep the building warm.

Workers are just getting started removing the old system. The new one should be in place by October.

The total project will cost $4.5 million. The city will use bonds to cover the cost and pay the bonds back with the money saved from cutting the energy bills.