Ball State Completes Biggest U.S. Ground-Source Geothermal System

Ball State University has completed its campus-wide ground-source geothermal system, the nation's biggest geothermal heating and cooling system, D.O.E. announced on March 20. D.O.E. played a part in the plan by providing a $5 million grant through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. The Indiana university anticipates saving $2 million annually in operating costs and cutting its carbon footprint by nearly 50% with the project.

Launched in 2009, Ball State's geothermal system will replace 4 aging coal-fired boilers to provide renewable power that will heat and cool 47 university buildings, representing 5.5 million square feet on the 660-acre campus. To provide heating, geothermal heat pumps transfer heat from fluid in the Earth to buildings. For cooling, the pumps remove heat from buildings and transfer it back into the Earth. See the D.O.E. Progress Alert and Buildings website.