RMF Engineering
Summary
University of Albany, one of the four “university centers” of the state’s State University of New York (SUNY) system, recently embarked on a $30 million decarbonization project that will greatly reduce fossil fuel consumption.
The project, which includes shutting down campus boilers during summer months, aligns with the collegiate network’s initiative to reduce the carbon footprints of all in-state facilities and meet goals outlined in the 2019 Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act (CLCPA). Since SUNY buildings represent 40% of state-owned buildings, the new initiative will accelerate the CLCPA’s plan of reducing almost all of New York greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.
Approved for funding in the 2023-24 state budget, the project entails replacing two gas-fired absorption chillers in the university’s 1960s-era power plant with a high-efficiency electric centrifugal chiller and a heat recovery chiller connected to a new geothermal well field in one of the campus’ parking lots. Construction crews have already begun drilling the geothermal wells. Eventually, the university will have up to 135 800-feet deep wells to reduce campus natural gas emissions by 16%.
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