Ball State's sustainability initiative may not fully pay off unless the university can find more funds soon.
Ball State's geothermal project is in its second phase, but aside from updating buildings undergoing renovations, the university may not be able to do much more for a while.
"We're hopeful that perhaps next year we'll find some additional funds," said Jim Lowe, director of Facilities Planning and Management. "And we'll continue to plug away at this project now that we're up and running [in some buildings]."
Many campus buildings already have the heating and cooling system in place, which uses underground piping to regulate building temperatures.
Studebaker East, Teachers College and Applied Technology will be added to the list once their renovations are complete.
"We continue to add more buildings to what we call the 'hot water system,'" Lowe said.
But other than those types of projects, the only portion of geothermal being worked on in Phase 2 is the drilling of 780 out of 1,800 boreholes that is under way on the soccer field, Lowe said.
That work will be completed sometime in September and the grass will be put back so the area can be used for soccer by Fall 2013.
But once that project is done, the university doesn't have much more it can do until additional funding is obtained.
"When it will be completed is truly dependent on when and if money flows in to finish it," he said.
Lowe said if money doesn't come, there are other decisions that can be made, those will be made internally among administrators and staff that will determine what is the best approach.
The geothermal project in total is expected to cost between $70 million and $75 million, Lowe said. The project was originally estimated to cost $66 million when it was approved in a February 2009 Board of Trustees meeting, according to an earlier Daily News report.
"We're always looking for ways to draw the cost down," Lowe said.
Even though the project may be reaching a standstill soon, much has already been accomplished.
Phase one has been operating since late November and a dedication was held in March.
The university has taken advantage of renovations and other construction opportunities around campus by installing piping when buildings are being worked on.
Ten miles of piping was installed during a huge overhaul at the intersection of McKinley and Riverside avenues during Summer Semester 2011.
Ball State burned about 36,000 tons of coal each year before installing the geothermal system, according to a previous Daily News article. That amount of coal is the allotted amount according to a Title 5 operating permit issued to the university by the United States Environmental Protection Agency.
The university will no longer need the permit and will be in full compliance with the EPA by March 2014.
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