Services
Geothermal & Renewables
Meeting climate goals with green energy
Decarbonization leadership
Salas O’Brien provides decarbonization expertise, leadership, and support to plan, design, and implement ground source heat exchange and solar photovoltaic systems that achieve exceptional operational cost savings and carbon emissions reductions.
Heating, cooling, and powering the built environment accounts for 30% of the planet’s greenhouse gas emissions. Salas O’Brien’s energy usage leadership results in tangible benefits to our clients and the environment. To date, we have completed 400 geothermal projects, providing over 84,000 tons of system capacity, and over 150MW of renewable generation projects including 100MW of solar capacity, and 50MW of fuel cell capacity.
Geothermal heating and cooling
Ground source-based heating and cooling systems draw and reject heat from the earth’s constant temperature while recovering energy wasted by conventional sources. When combined with thermal storage technologies, the resulting system efficiency can be as much as a 70% improvement over conventional systems.
Reliable, resilient systems designed by Salas O’Brien’s geothermal experts provide the basis for building heating system electrification and are the heart of many district energy initiatives.
Solar PV
Solar photovoltaic systems provide a reliable and sustainable way to generate electricity. When PV systems are combined with innovative technologies and battery storage solutions, system owners can achieve lower operating costs, greater efficiency, and resilience against electrical grid failure.
Salas O’Brien’s experts provide both engineered solar design and expertise in power market operations. Leveraging this knowledge, we provide guidance to our clients and identify the optimal combination of technologies to meet their project goals, whether they are resiliency, carbon reduction, operational cost savings or any combination of the three.
Geothermal & Renewables Projects
What we can offer
From initial consultation to full specification and construction facilitation, we offer a complete array of design services, including the development of advanced and often groundbreaking solutions when conventional approaches can’t deliver quality results.
Feasibility, master planning, and climate-related planning
Salas O’Brien provides different scenarios, quantifying the costs, benefits, and risks of each option, so that clients can optimize their investments and reduce their environmental impact.
Energy modeling, greenhouse gas accounting, and life cycle cost analysis
Salas O’Brien can simulate the energy performance of a building or system to identify opportunities for energy efficiency improvements. We quantify and report the amount of greenhouse gas emissions that are produced by a facility or organization, and can evaluate the total costs of a system or facility over its entire lifespan, including the costs associated with maintenance, operation, and disposal.
Geo-X systems and thermal energy storage design
Salas O’Brien specializes in geothermal energy for heating and cooling, where heat pumps are used to extract and distribute heat from the earth. The system can also be designed to store excess thermal energy, which can offset peak demand periods, resulting in increased energy efficiency and cost savings.
Central energy plant and utilities distribution system analysis and design
Energy and utilities play in the operation of any facility, and Salas O’Brien’s team of experts is dedicated to optimizing the performance and efficiency of these systems.
Microgrid planning and design
Salas O’Brien designs migrogrids including integration of code-compliant, architecturally-coordinate PV, inverter equipment, power/control cabling, and “net”-metering switchgear
Integration of code-compliant PV equipment, inverters, cabling, and net-metering switchgear
Owner-assistance for geothermal and solar system grants and incentives from government and utility agencies
Implementation of renewable power systems for commercial and utility-scale solar and battery storage projects
Alternative funding
Salas O’Brien provides owner-assistance in grant and incentive programs from federal, state, and local agencies, and utility companies.
Commissioning
Salas O’Brien provides commissioning services to verify that a new or retrofitted system is installed and functioning properly according to the design intent and specifications.
