Ball State takes $5 M grant for massive on-campus GT project

In Indiana, Ball State University will install a geothermal heating and cooling system on its campus to replace its coal-fired boilers using – in part – a $5 M grant from the DOE’s recent allocation. The university is slated to receive the maximum allowable grant for what will be a $65 million to $70 million project, and claimed to be the largest ground source geothermal system in the nation. The system will require the drilling of up to 4,000 holes to heat more than 45 buildings. When finished, the university will save some $2 million in annual operating costs and will cut its carbon footprint roughly in half. BSU hopes to have the first phase of the project completed by the fall semester of 2011.