Parkites might someday be convinced to look down to the ground for a new energy source.

And the people promoting the energy are not talking about digging oil wells.

A scattered number of people in Park City have tapped the internal heat of the Earth to provide the energy to power the heat air conditioning and hot-water systems in their homes or buildings.

They are called geothermal systems, and an Orem-based firm and the not-for-profit Recycle Utah have scheduled a workshop to teach people about them. Geothermal systems produce renewable energy, an environmentally cleaner option than energy produced by fossil fuels.

“People are interested in this. They’re concerned about energy costs rising,” says Becky Robbins, a Park City-based consultant for Orem’s Comfort Tech Custom Heating & Air Conditioning and one of the people scheduled to speak at the Sept.1 workshop.

Geothermal systems are buried, with Robbins explaining that loops made of polyethylene pipe are put into the ground. Water is then sent through the pipe. The water is heated by the Earth’s warmth, and the energy that is created by the heat is transferred to a pump that delivers the energy into the systems.

Robbins says there are approximately 12 geothermal systems in the Park City area, both in the public and private sectors.

“It really is just the dirt. The deeper you go, the more constant it is.” he says about the prospects of tapping the energy.

Robbins says the temperature is adequate for geothermal energy to be created at a depth of six feet in the Park City area. The cold-weather climate of the Park City area requires the six-foot depth, she says.

She estimates someone would need to spend a minimum of $20,000 to install a geothermal system at their home, but the price would be based on factors like the size of the home and the makeup of the ground where it is installed.

Federal tax credits, though, are available and could offset 30 percent of the cost, according to Robbins. She said state tax credits are available as well and could provide up to an additional $2,000.

The workshop is scheduled Tuesday, Sept. 1 from 5:30 p.m. until 7 p.m. at the offices of Jack Johnson Company, 1777 Sun Peak Drive, in the Snyderville Basin. The event is free, but Recycle Utah wants people to register beforehand.

For more information or to register, contact Recycle Utah at 649-9698.