The Oberlin Review
Summary
Oberlin’s Sustainable Infrastructure Program, a campus-wide conversion to geothermal heating and cooling, has just completed its third phase.
Over the summer, the construction of underground piping on North Professor Street was completed under Severance Hall, the Science Center, Bailey House, Zechiel House, Noah Hall, Kahn Hall, East Hall, Stevenson Dining Hall, Burton Hall, and Barnard House, transitioning them all to geothermal energy. Drilling of around 850 geothermal wells in the North Fields began this past summer and is 20 percent complete as of Wednesday, according to Assistant Vice President and Dean of Residence Life and Auxiliary Services Mark Zeno.
The SIP came out of Oberlin’s 2006 pledge to achieve carbon neutrality by 2025. The $140 million program aims to reduce campus water use by over five million gallons per year, reduce campus sewer discharge by over four million gallons per year, improve energy efficiency by more than 30 percent, and provide 11 more buildings with air conditioning.
A geothermal energy system means replacing old pipes with new hot water and chilled water pipes that run underground and distribute energy to buildings for heating and cooling. Campus Energy & Resource Manager Joel Baetens explained in an email to the Review that all SIP buildings will be connected to a main plant, which uses heat pumps and relocates “unwanted” heat to where it is needed. Any extra heat is stored in the geothermal well field, which runs 600 feet below ground.
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