Projects

Smith College | Campus Energy Decarbonization Study

Smith College | Campus Energy Decarbonization Study

Northampton, Massachusetts
United States
Smith-College

Smith College had committed to being a Zero Emissions campus by 2030.

Introba (formerly Integral Group) developed and evaluated available options and recommended a clear strategy and comprehensive technical concept to enable Smith College to achieve its 2030 Climate Targets.

The study carefully considered various technical, economic, environmental, and logistical factors, opportunities, and limitations in the specific context of Smith College’s existing energy infrastructure and its ultimate goals.

The recommended strategy comprised the following short, medium, and long-term progression steps:

  1. Switching from natural gas to renewable biodiesel in the existing central plant steam boilers;

  2. Implementation of the initial stage of the new campus-scale geo-exchange system with heat recovery chillers and a new low-temperature heating distribution network;

  3. Extending, completing, and eventually switching to the new campus-scale low-temperature heating distribution network adding a new tri-generation system based on renewable biodiesel, and decommissioning the existing steam heating and CHP plants and steam heating distribution network.