Elk River Ford
"Elk River Ford Dodge Jeep is excited to be a participating member of Energy City. We believe that the production and consumption of energy is the number one environmental issue the world faces and also probably the most significant economic factor.

Car dealerships in general tend to be energy inefficient due to heat loss through numerous overhead doors. In these times of uncertain energy prices, we feel energy efficiency is an obvious way of reducing operating expenses so the savings can be passed onto our customers.

Elk River Ford Dodge Jeep plans to expand our current 38,000 square foot facility by an additional 60,000 square feet in the next few years. To cut our energy consumption, energy efficient lighting, occupancy sensors and a well insulated building envelop will be incorporated into this expansion.

Most significantly, however, will be the use of ground source heat pumps for heating and cooling the expansion and a retrofit of our existing building. The loop field for this system will be directionally bored into the water table to ensure maximum efficiency.

Another innovation that will be applied to our site is low impact drainage. Rain that falls on our site will stay on our site. Storm water will be sheet drained to shallow basins where a proper mix of soils and vegetation will remove pollutants and it can then infiltrate to recharge the groundwater. A beneficial side effect is a stable groundwater elevation for our geothermal loop field ensuring it stays as efficient as possible.

We here at Elk River Ford Dodge Jeep are looking forward, with pride, at becoming an Energy City demonstration site when we do our expansion. In addition, what we are doing will be promoted by the National Automobile Dealers Association so hopefully we will lead the way for others in our industry."

- Scott Powell, Owner of Elk River Ford