Going "GREEN" with Simon Duck, owner of Techno Drill USA.

With the shifting economy and terms like “going green” and “renewable energy” it’s no surprise that many are turning toward geoexchange heat pumps systems to heat and cool buildings. With a 40% growth across the industry in 2009, industry leaders like Simon Duck are innovating us into a brighter greener future.

Simon Duck, the designer of many drilling products has spent years perfecting the drilling rigs his company builds. He spawned a new industry in the UK building micro drilling machines to drill foundation piles inside buildings back in the 80’s. His unique ‘Bunny Drill’ even became the generic term for small drilling rigs. Back in the 90’s micro piles were introduced by Duck to the USA through his Washington based distributor PACO. Now micro piles are a common practice for structural building repairs.

However, during the last fifteen years his attention has focused on the growing need for geothermal energy from geoexchange systems. He solved the problem of trying to drill with a large 60,000 pound drill rig in your back yard by shrinking the drill package down to a 10,000 pound rig that is 4 foot wide and drills as fast as the big rigs. This once unique small powerful drill rig able to drill geothermal bores 1000 feet deep, is now also being produced by other manufactures. Duck has consistently shown the industry where it needs to be going.

So what will be next big (or small) thing to emerge from his imaginarium? The industry needs new technology to bring geothermal into every building including the inner cities. Having had a rare peek into the R&D department, I am sure we will not be disappointed. They are working on cleaner faster ways to drill geothermal bores. These will cut installation costs and reduce the payback time for building/home owners. No small feat.

When asked about future products Duck said “The green market place is a great leap forward in helping our planet, however we need to take going green to the very core of our industry! The equipment we use, to build green products and systems has to be the most efficient we can find, they have to be recyclable. They cannot incorporate any toxic products. It’s no use creating a new industry if the equipment we use is adding to the problem. Once we realize this, then we are at least making some headway. Our new drilling methods reduce drill rig energy consumption by a massive amount, 40 to 60% compared to current rigs.”

When asked where he sees the drilling industry in ten years time, his answer was insightful, "Drilling is a dirty business, I mean really dirty. We can find some nasty stuff down there, some man made some not. The environment has sealed up these layers over the years. Then we come along and spray it up into the environment. The NEED is for cleaner drilling, we need to drill through mud and rock and keep all the cuttings in a controlled system. Today if you drill into contaminated ground the laws suits will eat your company alive. It's a gamble I would not want to take. So we HAVE to eliminate the risk. That is what we are working on and hopefully. . . . have solved."

Duck says the final product will be launched in 2011. It is aimed to be no more expensive than current drilling systems. It will have lower energy consumption to run and be environmentally friendly. But we will have to wait for the launch to find out all the details.

Our industry is changing and that is a good thing. With the governments incentives and a collective desire to help the environment and reduce carbon emissions things are heading in the right direction. Our future is dependent on the industry leaders that take us there. If we all have a similar desire to help our plant then we have a chance of success.

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