Largest Geothermal Project in U.S. Underway at Ball State

Ball State University in Muncie, Indiana is in the process of installing the largest geothermal system in the U.S.  Geothermal energy, heat from within the Earth, is clean, sustainable and has been used for decades in residential and commercial applications. It’s the scope of Ball State’s system – 47 buildings over 731 acres – that makes it unique, as well as carbon dioxide savings of 85,000 tons annually, cutting Ball State’s carbon footprint by nearly half. To learn more about Geothermal energy check out Wikipedia, U.S. Energy Information Administration or renewableenergyworld.com.

For more information on Ball State’s geothermal system, check out the post below which appeared on Ecogeek.org.

Written by Philip Proefrock on 03/07/12
Ecogeek.org

Ball State University in Muncie, Indiana is in the process of installing the largest ground-source heat pump system in the country. It is not supplying just a single building, however. Rather, this is a campus-wide system that will provide heating and cooling for the entire University campus.

The system uses 3,600 vertical bores located in several fields throughout the campus with more than 1,000 miles of piping for the heat transfer. The first phase of this project is nearing completion, with the system now providing heating and cooling to nearly half the campus.

The University expects to realize $2 million in annual energy costs through the use of the campus-wide geothermal system. Additionally, by removing its old coal fired boilers, the University says it will also reduce about 85,000 tons of CO2 emissions annually. Total cost for the project is around $70 million.