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2017: Greening the Grid
Some U.S. fossil fuel power stations primarily run during periods of high cooling demand. The output from these “peaker” plants is relatively inefficient, producing higher emissions. Ground source heat pumps, which harness the Earth’s heating and cooling energy, could help an integrated energy grid meet periods of peak demand with renewable energy. Currently in the testing phase, a geothermal system with ground source heat pumps will be coming to Cornell. This project will use the Ithaca campus as a large-scale living laboratory to test the technology.
Investigators: Lindsay Anderson, Mark Milstein, Michal Moore, Tim Mount, Jeff Tester