Ball State University (which has top-ranked landscape architecture programs) has announced its developing what will be the largest geothermal energy system in the U.S. The university’s Board of Trustees approved the replacement of the university power plant’s four existing coal-fired stoker boilers, which fuel central heating and cooling systems, with geothermal fields and energy centers that will provide service to more than 40 campus buildings.
President Jo Ann M. Gora said: “We face some critical challenges. Volatile availability and costs for fuel sources, a retracting economy and the likelihood of stricter air quality standards are just the start. Once implemented, the reduction of energy costs will be a significant benefit for future budgets.” Phase 1, which will shut down two coal-fired plants, is expected to cost $36 million. Taking the current boilers off-line will result in expected savings of $2 million per year. The university said it will actively pursue federal stimulus grants for the project.
According to the university, Sen. Richard Lugar’s office provided assistance and university officials consulted with experts from Oak Ridge National Laboratory and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) in conceptualizing the geothermal proposal. Technical feasibility studies concluded that heat pump chillers and geothermal storage would be technologically sound, and offer tremendous energy savings.
According to a December 2008 report from the Oak Ridge National Laboratory, 600,000 geothermal heat pumps have been installed in the United States. In 2006, the Department of Energy reported that 64,000 geothermal heat pumps were shipped — 53 percent of the units going to residential and 47 percent to commercial applications.
Read the press release
Go the U.S. Department of Energy’s brief on geothermal energy
