Sustainability Reaches a New Depth  

Cornell's exploration into the feasibility of using deep geothermal energy to heat the Ithaca campus has reached a milestone: Drilling for the Cornell University Borehole Observatory is complete.  

The nearly 2-mile deep borehole observatory allows for direct research on the temperature, permeability, and other characteristics of the rock deep beneath the Ithaca campus – factors that will help the university determine whether to move forward with a proposed plan to warm the Ithaca campus with Earth Source Heat (ESH).

Over the past several years, Cornell Atkinson Academic Venture Fund grants have been integral to the project, supporting research to develop the technology; determine the proper, sustainable construction of geothermal wells; define the technology's role within an integrated energy grid to meet peak-demand periods, and explore public attitudes and amenability to use. Through these phased projects, ESH has involved faculty, staff, and students across several sciences, engineering, and social science departments.

By heating the campus without fossil fuels, ESH would enable the university to meet its goal of carbon neutrality for the Ithaca campus by 2035 and position the campus as a living laboratory, providing a blueprint for other geothermal energy applications throughout the Northeastern U.S. and beyond.