A University Heated By Country’s Largest Geothermal System

How do you heat and cool 47 buildings and 25,000 people without using any fuel, and only minimal electricity?

By digging. Or more specifically: by installing an elaborate underground geothermal energy system that can both heat water during the winter, and cool it in the summer.

Geothermal electricity production may still be in its infancy in the U.S. But Ball State University, in Muncie, Indiana, is showing how geothermal technology can provide at large scale, and deliver big financial and carbon savings. Although the project, which spreads across 731 acres, will initially cost $70 to 75 million, it will cut the college’s bills by $2 million a year, and halve its CO2 output. The project is already 50 percent finished, with full completion expected in 2013. Assuming the cost of electricity remains the same, it will be paid off around 2050.