Ball State University took a large step in its green movement on Friday after the Board of Trustees voted to begin a geothermal energy project in May.
The project will cost an estimated $66 million dollars, Bob Koester, director of the Center for Energy Research, Education and Service, said.
Koester said the system, once operational, would save about $2 million in energy costs and reduce green house gas emissions by about 80,000 tons every year.
"It's going to be really good for the institution," he said. "It's going to have a positive impact for years to come."
Tom Kinghorn, vice president of business affairs and treasurer, said Ball State would reduce its carbon footprint by 50 percent once the geothermal system is completed.
"There is no doubt that this will be a demonstration project," he said. "It will be looked at by other universities ... and will be emulated."
Construction is scheduled to begin May 9, one day after commencement, and is expected to take at least five years.
The university will drill 3,750 holes into the ground under parking lots and grass fields on the perimeter campus, Kinghorn said. After construction, the holes will be unnoticeable and the areas will be restored for their original uses.
Geothermal heating and cooling systems are well established and used in both public and private sectors, Koester said. Ball State will have the nation's largest system and will be the first university in the nation to geothermally heat and cool its entire campus.
The project will further emphasize Ball State's commitment to sustainability, he said.
"It's going to put [Ball State] even more out front on the national stage," Koester said. "It's going to get a lot of recognition for it."
The university was given about $41 million by the Indiana General Assembly in 2005 to replace the current heating and cooling system. He said Ball State should have no problem convincing the assembly to repurpose that money to begin construction.
Koester said the rest of the funding would come from the money saved on energy and, hopefully, aid from the Department of Energy and additional state aid. The $41 million is enough to fund about half of the project, he said.
Kinghorn said the current system, which uses boilers, was built in 1941. The boilers are becoming obsolete, he said, and have "outlived their useful lives." The normal life for this type of system is about 40 years, he said.
The project would stimulate Indiana's economy, Koester said, because an Indiana company manufactures all the equipment that will be used. Ball State's operating costs would decrease by millions of dollars every year, although no exact numbers are known at this time, he said.
Kinghorn said the project would create 870 jobs between all its aspects, including manufacturing, construction and engineering.
"Given the economic difficulties the country is having, this is a breath of fresh air," Kinghorn said. "This will be an example of the application of the latest technology."
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