SeaLife Center uses water from Resurrection Bay to power new heating system

The Alaska SeaLife Center in Seward is now using an unusual form of energy to heat the facility: sea water from Resurrection Bay.

The Center says it has replaced 98 percent of its fossil fuel heating requirements by switching to this new form of alternative energy.

Project designer Andy Baker says energy from the sea water is compressed into enough heat to warm the entire 120,000 square foot facility.

The process is quite complicated to understand but Baker says what’s important is that now, instead of using a synthetic refrigerant, the heat pumps use carbon dioxide. The entire system almost completely eliminates fossil fuels as a heat source.

“Eventually the same technology and same system could be simplified to go into homes, smaller businesses and allow people to get off of fossil fuels forever,” said Baker.

Another interesting advantage is that the synthetic refrigerant the Center originally used had some greenhouse warming potential, while the CO2 refrigerant dramatically reduces the potential environmental impact of the system.

By using alternative energy, the ASLC estimates the Center’s heat pump systems save as much as $15,000 per month, with an annual carbon emissions reduction of 1.24 million pounds per year in comparison to the original oil-fired boilers.

“Back in 2008 when we started looking at doing this kind of system, we were spending a half million dollars on heating oil alone plus our electric cost,” said Darryl Schaefermeyer, special projects director at the Sea Life Center. “I mean we could heat the world with the energy that’s in the ocean off of Alaska.”

The seven year project was just completed this year and cost about $1.6 million according Schaefermeyer. Most of that was funded by grants.

Schaefermeyer expects the total system will pay for itself in nine years.