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The unique story of geothermal heating at the Peppermill Casino and Hotel

The unique story of geothermal heating at the Peppermill Casino and Hotel View over Reno with the Peppermill Resort & Casino in the background (source: flickr/ RobertCiavarro, creative commons)
Alexander Richter 26 Apr 2013

The Peppermill Casino & Hotel is the only resort in the U.S. deriving all of its heating from a geothermal well on the property saving $2 million in energy costs annually.

The Peppermill Casino & Hotel, the hotel having hosted the GRC Annual Meeting and GEA Trade Show for several years, is a role model for geothermal utilization.

Located in Reno, Nevada, the hotel not only derives parts of its electricity from geothermal plants in the neighborhood of the city, but also generates its how heating from a geothermal well on the property.

In 2009 it even briefly generated power from the geothermal well with a low-heat power generation unit by Pratt & Whitney. (see pictures here).

The hotel and casino features two 19-story towers with 2.1 million square foot (195,000 sqm) interior, 1,635 guest rooms, 43,000 square-foot (3,995 sqm) spa and all the other elements of a traditional casino with restaurants, casino etc.

“The hotel derives water from a geothermal aquifer 4,400 feet (1.34 kilometers) below the surface, which fuels the hotel’s massive heating and hot water systems.

Geothermal heating saves the hotel around $2 million annually over the costs from conventional energy sources used previously.

The Peppermill resort is, according to Dr. Jim Combs of Geo Hills Associates “the only resort in the United States whose heating source is totally provided from geothermal energy produced on the immediate property.”

For more details see link below.

Source: Forbes