Valley News – Dartmouth College explores geothermal energy

HANOVER — Dartmouth College will begin drilling test wells on Tuesday in an expanded search for geothermal energy.

After digging 13 wells in 2007, Dartmouth was able to introduce geothermal, also known as geoexchange, heating and cooling in two residence halls. That system provides 100% of the air conditioning and 25% of the heat for those buildings. The college dug another test well in 2019 on the Dartmouth Green, the results of which showed that land there could be another viable site for ground source heating and cooling. 

“Our geothermal investigation is an important part of our larger transition to renewable energy systems, which is going to shape the future of Dartmouth for the next 100 years in terms of how we are going to heat and cool our buildings,” Julia Pfeiffer, program manager for Dartmouth’s energy infrastructure renewal, said in a press statement from the college about the test wells. 

Over two to three weeks, wells will be dug at four locations across campus: by the Maynard parking lot, Scully-Fahey lacrosse field, by the Thompson hockey arena, and in a corner of the Dewey Parking Lot behind the Life Sciences Center. 

Dartmouth ran a similar test on the Green in 2019, revealing that land under the Green could also work for ground source heating and cooling. 

Geoexchange systems work by harnessing heat from below the earth’s surface, and converting it into warm air through electric heat pumps. The systems can be built under land and buildings, leaving the surface area above available for whatever its typical use might be. 

In the goals that the college currently has on record, Dartmouth has pledged an 80% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, and is shooting for a 50% reduction in overall emissions by 2025 based on a 2010 baseline. Since then, the college has reduced its emissions by 27%.

Dartmouth staff will be at the Maynard drilling site on Tuesday from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. to provide more information about the project.

Frances Mize is a Report for America corps member. She can be reached at fmize@vnews.com or 603-727-3242.