Blog Viewer

Colin Durrant, The Harvard Gazette

Summary

The wells that plunge 1,500 feet under Radcliffe Yard are out of sight to those walking over them. But to the facilities team there, they are well known as indispensable tools in the University’s fight against climate change.

First installed a decade ago when the technology was still in its infancy, the wells are part of a geothermal system that reduces carbon emissions by using the natural heat stored deep underground for heating and cooling buildings. Through a process of continual testing and improvement that included the help of undergraduate engineering students, the system has been expanded twice to serve all of the historic brick buildings surrounding Radcliffe Yard.

In a report released today, Harvard University details the path it took to achieving its goal to reduce greenhouse gas emissions 30 percent by 2016 from a 2006 baseline, inclusive of campus growth. The steps included energy audits and energy efficiency measures across most of the 25 million square feet of campus, installing renewable energy technology including the Radcliffe geothermal wells and thousands of solar panels on rooftops, and fuel-switching and other improvements to campus utilities that lowered carbon pollution. The transition of the regional electric grid away from coal and oil to natural gas also contributed to Harvard’s progress via the electricity its Schools and departments purchase. Excluding growth, Harvard saw a 40 percent reduction in emissions over the 10 years.

Full Article

Continue Reading