Shopping Centers Today

MAR 2013

Shopping Centers Today is the news magazine of the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC)

Issue link: https://sct.epubxp.com/i/109754

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UNDERGROUND ECONOMIES GEOTHERMAL TECHNOLOGY ALLOWS CENTERS AND STORES TO ACHIEVE HUGE HVAC SAVINGS I By Steve McLinden F THE 1960S MOVIE CLASSIC THE GRADUATE were reset in this decade, the single word of unsolicited career advice whispered to the main character might not be "plastics" any longer, but "thermodynamics." This branch of natural science governs the harnessing of geothermal energy, a renewable resource that is gaining popularity and which powers increasing numbers of retail buildings. Geothermalpowered malls have begun operating in Austria, Turkey, the U.K. and other countries over the past five years. No shopping centers in the U.S. are thus powered yet, with some irony perhaps, given that the U.S. leads the world in geothermal electricity-generating capacity. Ikea may help show how geothermal energy could work in large retail buildings in the U.S. The retailer's ultra-green store near Denver, which opened in July 2011, was its first geothermal-powered unit in the U.S., though 15 Ikea stores elsewhere in the world were already using the technology. 44 SCT / M A R C H 2 0 1 3

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