Earlier this week, Notre Dame announced its plan to install 46,000 feet of solar panels on the west side of campus as part of its mission to pursue net zero carbon emissions by 2050. The project will begin this summer and will be completed in one to two years. Once operational, the solar array will reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 600 to 700 tons and provide about 1% of the electricity used on campus.
Paul Kempf, assistant vice president for utilities and maintenance, said the project won’t be a huge site, but he hopes that it will demonstrate the University’s commitment.
“The project is meant to be a visible sign of our commitment to green energy,” Kempf said.
In addition to the solar panel project, Notre Dame has been working extensively to fulfill its goal of emitting zero carbon emissions by 2050.
“Last fiscal year, we were down in the 140,000-ton range. For us, that’s almost a 50% reduction [since 2005],” Kempf said.
Currently, about 20% of the energy consumed by campus comes from renewable sources. This includes investments in the joint solar project with Indiana-Michigan power, a hydroelectric facility on the St. Joseph River and three geothermal systems for heating and cooling.
“We’re doing a fair amount of work on geothermal,” Kempf said. “We have a big project on geothermal started right now, and we’ve completed three fairly significant geothermal projects already.”
Geothermal energy captures heat energy below the earth’s surface. This sustainable and renewable energy source is able to heat homes and buildings in an eco-friendly manner.
“Dunne, Flaherty, Johnson Family, McCourtney and the School of Architecture were all built and are all on geothermal currently,” Kempf said. “Any new building on campus is designed to work on low temperature hot water. We take steam to the building, and we convert steam to hot water.”
Although geothermal power is eco-friendly, it is incapable of meeting the current heading needs of buildings on campus. Notre Dame’s residence and academic halls require a certain amount of heat, much more than geothermal power can provide.
“[Geothermal] works for part of the time, but not all the time,” Kempf said. “We might be able to use geothermal for half of the load of the year. The other half has to come off the steam system,” Kempf said.
Currently, Notre Dame’s steam system is fueled by natural gas, a major greenhouse gas that contributes to climate change.
Kempf said that for geothermal power to be effective for the entirety of the year, buildings have to be structured so that they require less heat. Otherwise, the University will continue to have to rely on nonrenewable resources to provide heat to campus buildings.
