As part of the Obama Administration's all-of-the-above approach to American energy, the Energy Department recently congratulated Ball State University for its campus-wide ground-source geothermal system, the nation's largest geothermal heating and cooling system.
Building on significant investment from the State of Indiana and the University, the Energy Department provided key support for the project with a $5 million grant through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. The Ball State system—which the university anticipates will save $2 million annually in operating costs and cut its carbon footprint by nearly 50%—is one Energy Department investment helping to reduce energy costs, diversify the nation's energy portfolio, and create clean energy jobs across the country.
Launched in 2009, Ball State's geothermal system will replace four aging coal-fired boilers to provide renewable power that will heat and cool 47 university buildings, representing 5.5-million-sf on the 660-acre campus.
To provide heating, the geothermal heat pump removes the heat from the fluid in the Earth and transfers it to the building. For cooling, the pump removes heat from the building and transfers it back into the Earth. Nearly every component of the Recovery Act-supported system was manufactured in America, and Ball State has contracted with more than 50 Indiana firms to complete the project, which included drilling 3,600 boreholes around campus.
Buildings consume about 40% of total energy in the U.S. The Energy Department's support for projects like the Ball State geothermal system underscores the Administration's commitment to clean, efficient energy solutions that can create significant costs savings. The innovative geothermal system highlighted today demonstrates the tremendous potential of sustainable energy technologies, and serves as a model for other major facilities and universities across the nation. BD+C
Related Stories
| May 21, 2012
$61,000 awarded to students in Cleveland’s ACE Mentor Program
Mayor Frank G. Jackson gives keynote address at scholarship event for 80 Cleveland Metropolitan School District students involved in the ACE Mentor Program, which provides guidance and assistance for students interested in careers in the integrated construction industry.
| May 21, 2012
Wayne, Pa.'s Radnor Middle School wins national green award
Radnor Middle School among the most sustainable schools in the U.S.
| May 21, 2012
Winchester High School receives NuRoof system
Metal Roof Consultants attended a school board meeting and presented a sloped metal retrofit roof as an alternative to tearing off the existing roof and replacing it with another flat roof.
| May 17, 2012
EMerge Alliance forms new Campus Microgrid Technical Standards Committee
Intel leading the charge to connect multiple DC microgrids throughout commercial buildings; others invited to join effort.
| May 16, 2012
AIA issues guide to IGCC
Getting the IgCC adopted in all 50 states and in jurisdictions across the country is the primary mission of the ICC, which published the code in March.
| May 16, 2012
Architecture Billings Index reverts to negative territory
Decline is possibly a brief pause from unusually strong winter activity.
| May 16, 2012
AEG releases 3D video of L.A.'s Farmers Field
The Los Angeles Convention Center footage depicts the new convention center hall spaces, including a new lobby above Pico Boulevard, pre-function space, and what will be the largest multi-purpose ballroom in Los Angeles.
| May 16, 2012
Balfour Beatty Construction taps Kiger as VP of operations
Kiger will manage current relationships and pursue other strategic clients, including select healthcare clients and strategic project pursuits in the Central Tennessee region.
| May 15, 2012
One World Trade Center goes to new height of sustainability
One of the biggest challenges in developing this concrete mixture was meeting the Port Authority of New York/New Jersey’s strict requirement for the replacement of cement.
| May 15, 2012
Suffolk selected for Rosenwald Elementary modernization project
The 314-student station elementary school will undergo extensive modernization.
