To advance its goal of becoming a carbon-neutral campus by 2040, Miami University will begin drilling more than 500 wells almost 850 feet deep into the earth to extract geothermal energy.
This energy will be used to transition its current North Chiller Plant – a fossil-fuel-powered steam system – into a geothermal energy plant that generates electricity using turbines.
The North Chiller Plant – located between Withrow and McFarland Halls – currently provides heating and cooling through steam systems powered by natural gas. Although natural gas is cleaner than conventional fossil fuels – such as coal and oil – it is still a non-renewable resource prone to unintended leaks or flaring that harm the environment.
“We have transitioned to natural gas, which is obviously a lot cleaner. But still, we know that it’s not efficient to send something really hot through 14 miles of underground line. You’re always going to have heat loss,” said Olivia Herron, Miami University’s Director of Sustainability. “This transition to geothermal is essential to achieving our carbon neutral targets and will improve the energy efficiency of all of the buildings it starts.”
Through this new geothermal plant – the North Geothermal Plant – energy can be produced and stored year-round, allowing the university access to a reliable energy source that is resistant to fluctuating weather patterns and a changing climate.
“What the geothermal wellfield will allow us to do is take that energy we're pulling out in an unbalanced situation and store it in the ground,” said Don Van Winkle, Associate Director of Engineering at Miami University. “So, if we are in the cooling season, we've got to take a bunch of heat out of spaces. And we always have someplace to put heat; there's always domestic hot water going on, no matter what time of year.”
Once the plant is operational, the university will also remove its cooling towers that currently serve the chiller plant, which require excessive chemicals and water to produce steam.
Miami University’s North Chiller Plant conversion is projected to begin in the summer of 2024 and be fully operational by the spring of 2026, allowing the university time to store surplus energy in the geothermal battery before the next winter season begins.
