Minneapolis building could go from zero to geothermal with funding boost

Mention “Thelma and Louise” and many will recall a 1991 road trip movie with Susan Sarandon and Geena Davis. But Thelma and Louise are also a pair of 68-year-old boilers in the basement of South Minneapolis’ Sabathani Community Center that are beyond their expected lifespans.

So Sabathani officials want to find a different means to keep the community center cool in summer and warm in winter: install a geothermal direct outdoor air system to replace Thelma and Louise and the building’s 104 air conditioners.

But the community center housed in an almost century-old former middle school needs funding to complete the project.

Sponsored by Rep. Athena Hollins (DFL-St. Paul), HF3949 would allocate $10 million in the current biennium toward the upgrade and help Sabathani complete the transition from one of Minneapolis’ least energy-efficient buildings (it received a zero rating on an EnergyStar audit) to what is being called “a resilience hub,” and help provide energy to 72 units of multi-family housing in its neighborhood.

On Tuesday, the House Climate and Energy Finance and Policy Committee laid the bill over for possible inclusion in a larger climate and energy bill.

Janet Brown, Sabathani’s project coordinator, said the project is expected to cost about $21 million. More than $6 million has been raised, the center is expecting to hear soon about an Environmental Protection Agency challenge grant of another $6 million, and other funding is coming from the city and Hennepin County.

“This is the final piece,” she said.

The bill would allocate $6 million in fiscal year 2024 and $4 million in fiscal year 2025 from the Renewable Development Account, a state-administered fund designed for developing renewable energy sources in Minnesota. Xcel Energy pays into it with annual fees of between $350,000 and $500,000 for each cask of nuclear waste it stores at its Prairie Island and Monticello facilities.

“When we think about the benefits of moving them to geothermal, not only is it the ratepayers who live in this complex and are served by this community center, but it’s all of the surrounding individuals in the city of Minneapolis who are going to be benefiting from the reduced emissions,” Hollins said. “I actually think this fits very squarely into what the RDA funds were designed for.”

In agreement is Nick Martin, Xcel Energy’s director of strategic outreach and advocacy. He said Xcel Energy is assisting the community center and two other Minneapolis buildings with the installation of a rooftop solar array and an onsite storage battery that will be part of the larger electrical grid, distributing power throughout its service area but also able to be isolated from the larger grid during outages.

Rep. Pat Garofalo (R-Farmington) expressed concern that the project’s $10 million payout from the Renewable Development Account would draw those funds down too far. Both he and Rep. Marion Rarick (R-Maple Lake) call it “a big ask.”

Sabathani Community Center hosts 25 organizations, including a Montessori school, printing business, food shelf, and workforce training and medical reference centers.