Smith College
Summary
Smith College is in the midst of a major energy transformation.
After nearly two years of digging, installation of piping, and construction, buildings on the north side of campus are now being heated with lower-carbon energy. Currently, about 19 percent of the square footage of the campus is being heated with geothermal energy, which harnesses the stable temperature of the ground and transfers it, using piped water, to where it is needed. One immediate benefit to students on the north side of campus is, “You now have controllable heat in your room,” says Charlie Conant, interim assistant vice president of capital projects. Other buildings in the new energy district, including Mwangi Cultural Center and the Campus School of Smith College, are also now heated by geothermal energy.
The geothermal project—the largest capital undertaking in Smith’s history—is replacing the college’s aging fossil-fuel-fired steam heating system with an electrically-powered geothermal one. The new system—which will also provide cooling to many campus buildings in summer—will lower Smith’s carbon emissions by 80%, helping the college to reach its goal of carbon neutrality by 2030.
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