WorldWide Drilling Resource

A Win-Win for Cornell University Adapted from Information by GI Energy Cornell University built a new STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) campus on Roosevelt Island in New York, to house the Jacobs Technion-Cornell Institute. With 650,000 square feet of buildings, it includes one of the largest low-energy buildings in the U.S. - The Bloomberg Center. GI Energy was responsible for the vertical ground source heat pump (GHSP) sys- tem, which provides a significant amount of the heating and cooling needs. Eighty boreholes were drilled to a depth of 400 feet, intercepting water-filled fissures in the local bedrock. GI Energy’s GSHP system takes advantage of this water to increase its efficiency. It is the first time in the U.S. a supplemental groundwater pumping system has been applied to a closed-loop geothermal system in this way. The system is designed to support The Bloomberg Center’s aspiration for radically lower energy use and minimal envi- ronmental impact. It utilizes a unique annulus pumping system adopted from the oil industry to increase the efficiency of the ground loop. The system is highly efficient and cost-effective to run. It delivers all the heating, cooling, and domestic hot water for The Bloomberg Center without any direct combustion of fossil fuels. The combination of the facility’s low energy design, solar photovoltaic panels, and GI Energy’s GSHP system is ex- pected to save up to 500 tons of carbon dioxide per year. Steve Beyers, energy engineer at Cornell University said, “The Bloomberg Center’s innovative ground source heat pump system is a perfect match for Cornell’s mission of education, research, and outreach. It demonstrates respect for the envi- ronment while saving energy dollars for investment into our education mission, but it’s also a great experiment in new tech- nology. It’s a win-win for the University.” GEO 28 DECEMBER 2018 WorldWide Drilling Resource ®