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    Brightcore Energy Constructing Geothermal Heating and Cooling Project at Bard College in New York

    Feb. 29, 2024
    The project will replace the existing aging, fossil fuel-fired system operating in The Charles P. Stevenson Jr. Library
    Bard College
    65e09fc9424933001ed9150d Bard College

    New York-based Brightcore Energy, a provider of renewable energy solutions, has started constructing a geothermal heating and cooling project at Bard College, a private liberal arts college in Annandale-on-Hudson, NY, to replace the existing aging, fossil fuel-fired system operating in The Charles P. Stevenson Jr. Library.

    Brightcore will deliver a full scope of services, from the feasibility and design, drilling and ground loop installation, mechanical connections, incentive procurement, and ongoing system performance monitoring on completion. 

    The initial scope features 50 boreholes, drilled to a depth of 500 ft, containing the 1-¼ in diameter geothermal loops and thermally enhanced grout.

    “It is the default for all new construction projects, and nearly 38% of the campus building area utilizes geothermal technology,” said Dan Smith, Energy Manager & Special Projects Coordinator at Bard College. “The Library Project will be our first effort to transform an existing building, with an oil-fire boiler plant and conventional chiller system, to a ground-source heat exchanger and heat pump plant.”

    The college aims to achieve carbon neutrality by 2035 through its Office of Sustainability and is progressing towards that commitment. 

    The project highlights the nationwide growth in educational institutions seeking to lower their carbon footprint and environmental impact by optimizing their energy usage and replacing inefficient and aging infrastructure.

    About the Author

    EnergyTech Staff

    Rod Walton is senior editor for EnergyTech.com. He has spent 14 years covering the energy industry as a newspaper and trade journalist.

    Walton formerly was energy writer and business editor at the Tulsa World. Later, he spent six years covering the electricity power sector for Pennwell and Clarion Events. He joined Endeavor and EnergyTech in November 2021.

    He can be reached at [email protected]. 

    EnergyTech is focused on the mission critical and large-scale energy users and their sustainability and resiliency goals. These include the commercial and industrial sectors, as well as the military, universities, data centers and microgrids.

    Many large-scale energy users such as Fortune 500 companies, and mission-critical users such as military bases, universities, healthcare facilities, public safety and data centers, shifting their energy priorities to reach net-zero carbon goals within the coming decades. These include plans for renewable energy power purchase agreements, but also on-site resiliency projects such as microgrids, combined heat and power, rooftop solar, energy storage, digitalization and building efficiency upgrades.