Project Updates, Press & Presentations

The Northfield, Minnesota college shut down its last boiler in May—a milestone in its commitment to a carbon-free campus by 2050

On May 21, 2021 Carleton turned off steam power for the last time ever. This concludes 111 years of using steam to fuel our campus and help students survive Minnesota winters. The college has now fully transitioned to hot water geothermal power, a shift that indicates Phase 2 of the Utility Master Plan has been completed.

An article in The Carletonian written by Beck Woolen ’23 shares some exciting news about the future use of an iconic Carleton landmark.

Artists-in-residence Leslie Grant and Casey Demming share their final work from the summer of 2019, with poems and readings that detail labor, highlight its necessity in modern society, and expresses gratitude for those who built our structures.

During the summer of 2020, the exisiting facilities building off of Highway 19 got a facelift and some upgraded equipment. Three new hot water boilers were placed on their pads on July 8th, 2020. There will be two more coming in 2021, but this is a big milestone. These boilers will supplement the geothermal system, which will cover about 70% of the College’s annual heating and cooling demands. These boilers are also much more efficient than the old boilers they are replacing.

Since majority of faculty, staff, and students are off-campus due to the COVID-19 pandemic, facilities is getting a jump-start on summer construction. See the attachment for photos. Because we needed to replace the old steam piping with new hot water piping, we are taking advantage of the opportunity to upgrade the Burton service road and loading docks.

Read on for construction updates as we kick off the 2020 construction season.

The Carletonian published an all-sustainability issue for the sixth week of winter term 2020, right in time for the Sustainability Office’s Climate Action Week. The Utility Master Plan made the front page with the feature story: “Carleton on track to meet interim emissions goal as geothermal project enters second phase.”

Janet Scannell, Carleton’s Chief Technology Officer, talks energy use in some of the College’s most energy-intensive spaces — computer labs and the data center. With the UMP, the heat pump can recycle the waste heat given off in these spaces and redistribute to cooler areas of campus. Read more about Carleton’s digital footprint.

Martha Larson, Carleton’s Manager of Campus Energy and Sustainability and lead project manager for the Utility Master Plan, talks shop with Dave Karlsgodt of Fovea LLC about the replacement of steam to a hot water / geothermal district heating system. Give it a listen here.