Company:

Customer: Ball State University, Muncie, Ind.

Installation: York CYK chillers and heat pumps

Completion: Phase 1 will be complete in 2011; phase 2 is dependent on funding.

Objective: To preserve the environment and save money by creating the nation’s largest closed-loop geothermal energy system.

Work Completed: Ball State University (BSU) is aiming to be both revolutionary and responsible by creating the nation’s largest closed-loop geothermal energy system. Once fully implemented, this pioneering project will save the university $2 million a year in operating costs and replace four aging coal-fired boilers. This full-scale university-wide system will heat and cool more than 45 buildings and span the entire 660-acre campus, reducing CO2 emissions by nearly 75,000 metric tons.

To create the system, BSU will have approximately 3,600 boreholes drilled in borehole fields around campus. After construction is complete, each well will be covered, and the area will be restored to its previous use, retaining campus beauty.

BSU has constructed two new energy stations to pump heated and chilled water through the geothermal system, and also installed a green roof on top of one of the stations. The 7,000-square-foot GreenGrid plant system also supports BSU’s commitment to the environment.

Publication date: 10/24/2011