The Mount Holyoke Campus seen from above, with Lower Lake in the foreground and rolling hills in the background

Geothermal Project

Our commitment to carbon neutrality

Taking action on climate change is critical to our success as a College and as responsible members of a global community. Initiating the Geothermal project signifies our commitment to our campus carbon neutrality promise. We are pursuing this goal by our bicentennial through a strategy of investing in energy efficiency, promoting energy conservation, retrofitting historic buildings and transitioning to efficient heating and cooling technologies which demand less energy to operate. The biggest driver to this success is the implementation of the geothermal project to transition our campus heating and cooling.

Listen to the geothermal podcast interview

Geothermal Events

Project update – March 5, 2025

Phase 3 of the geothermal project will begin March 17, 2025, with the installation of distribution piping on Lower Lake Road and continuing across Park Street, past Torrey, up to Kendall and west along Dunlap Road. This work will be segmented into eight distinct work areas to reduce large-scale impacts to vehicular and pedestrian traffic.

Between March 17 and early May 2025, the first segment of work will close Lower Lake Road between Park Street and the north wing of Talcott Greenhouse. This is referred to as Area D in the construction map PDF below.

During this first segment of Phase 3, parking across from Talcott Greenhouse will be displaced and community members should plan to use alternate parking in the Ham-MacGregor and Gorse lots.

Signage will be placed near and around the Area D site to indicate that this section of Lower Lake Road is closed, and to guide pedestrians and vehicles to alternate routes.

The ARC van will continue to operate, and riders are encouraged to allow additional time to reach destinations due to the possibility of alternate traffic routes. There will be changes to the PVTA bus route, which are also indicated in the PDF below.

Please note: after this first segment is finished in early May, pipe distribution activity will halt until after Commencement, so Lower Lake Road and all associated parking will be available for use.

Please refer to this PDF for more information about the nature of the work, blocked roadways and alternate pedestrian and traffic routes during construction.

View construction map and PVTA route

The full schedule for distribution piping installation is shown in the logistics map PDF below.

Work areas are labeled by letter.

Each area includes a note about when work is scheduled to begin and end.

Community members are encouraged to note where and when access to certain parking areas may be impacted, as well as the intended start dates for each segment, to plan ahead for parking when coming to campus.

View full logistics map

Site preparation for the geothermal field (the club rugby field) will begin mid-May and drilling activities for geothermal-exchange bores will begin there the first week of June. These bores turn the earth into a thermal energy storage system, storing heat during warmer periods for use during colder times.

Please continue to visit this page and read weekly newsletters such as MHC This Week for further updates as the project continues.

Porter Hall

The main basement entrance of Porter Hall will be closed on Wednesday, October 16, from 10 am-5 pm due to sidewalk paving. During this time select parking spaces will be closed off to allow for the parking lot to remain open. Basement access to Porter will still be accessible via the entrance closest to the laundry room.

Mary Woolley

Installation of the new heating system is ongoing on the basement floor. The building will remain open during construction. A portion of the sidewalk is closed on the Chapin Auditorium side of the building during construction.

View current construction maps

Skinner Green

Sod will be installed starting Tuesday, September 17. Skinner Green will remain closed until October 8th to allow time for the grass to establish. String fencing and signs will be installed around the perimeter of the closed area.

Mary Woolley

View current construction maps

General Update

A portion of Chapin Road will be closed until August 21.

Half of Rockefeller Road will be closed for trenching work until August 21. One lane will remain open to thru traffic during construction.

The one-way street, Woolley Circle, will be utilized as a two-way alternating traffic street with limited parking along the road to allow for deliveries and trash removals. A two-way alternating traffic sign will be posted at the entrance of the street.

View current construction maps

Skinner Green

Demobilizing of construction equipment has begun.

Brigham Hall

Construction crews have demobilized from the building.

Porter Hall

Construction crews have begun demobilizing from the building. The dorm will reopen for early arrival students on August 23.

Reese

Installation of the new heating system will continue.

Mary Woolley

Installation of the new heating system is ongoing on the basement floor. The building will remain open during construction.

Science Center

Installation of a new gas line to the building will take place August 19-20. A portion of the sidewalk and parking spaces will be closed due to this work.

General Update

A portion of Chapin Road will be closed until August 21.

Half of Rockefeller Road will be closed for trenching work until August 21. One lane will remain open to thru traffic during construction.

The walkway between Porter Hall and Blanchard Hall will reopen.

View current construction maps

Skinner Green

Piping work and staging is ongoing within the fence line of Skinner Green.

Brigham Hall

Installation of the new heating system will continue. The building remains closed due to construction work.

Porter Hall

Installation of the new heating system will continue. The building and parking lot remain closed due to construction work.

Reese

Installation of the new heating system will continue.

Mary Woolley

Installation of the new heating system is ongoing on the basement floor. The building will remain open during construction with high noise impact during construction hours until August 16.

General Update

A portion of Chapin Road will be closed until August 21.

Half of Rockefeller Road will be closed for trenching work until August 21. One lane will remain open to thru traffic during construction.

Trenching work continues between Blanchard Hall and Porter Hall until August 10th. Temporary pedestrian pathways will be installed around the work area.

View current construction maps

Skinner Green

Piping work and staging is ongoing within the fence line of Skinner Green.

Brigham Hall

Installation of the new heating system will continue. The building remains closed due to construction work.

Porter Hall

Installation of the new heating system will continue. The building and parking lot remain closed due to construction work.

Reese

Installation of the new heating system will continue.

Mary Woolley

Installation of the new heating system is ongoing on the basement floor. The building will remain open during construction with high noise impact during construction hours until August 16.

General Update

The one-way street, Woolley Circle, will be utilized as a two-way alternating traffic street with limited parking along the road to allow for deliveries and trash removals beginning the week of July 29. A two-way alternating traffic sign will be posted at the entrance of the street.

A portion of Chapin Road will be closed until August 21.

Half of Rockefeller Road will be closed for trenching work until August 21st. One lane will remain open to thru traffic during construction.

Trenching work continues between Blanchard Hall and Porter Hall until August 10th. Temporary pedestrian pathways will be installed around the work area.

View current construction maps

Skinner Green

Piping work and staging is ongoing within the fence line of Skinner Green.

Brigham Hall

Installation of the new heating system will continue. The building remains closed due to construction work.

Porter Hall

Installation of the new heating system will continue. The building and parking lot remain closed due to construction work.

Reese

Installation of the new heating system will continue.

Mary Woolley

Installation of the new heating system is ongoing on the basement floor. The building will remain open during construction with high noise impact during construction hours until August 16.

Student and faculty engagement opportunities

Raquel Aquirre ’22 (on the left) and Monica Geraldes ’22 (on the right) working with cuttings from the test bore hole for the geothermal project.

The geothermal project provides a living lab opportunity for students to apply their scholarship on campus. One such example is when Mount Holyoke professor Al Werner Professor of Geology, and Monica Geraldes Vega ’22, and Raquel Aguirre ’22, sought to learn more about the rocks under campus and their conductivity to inform geothermal feasibility for the campus. Their work interpreted the geological record at depth (800 feet below the surface). To study the rocks, they collected cuttings every five feet as the drilling progressed. They learned about how much heat was available and accessible in the rocks by running a conductivity test. The engineers used this data to inform how many wells and how far apart from one another they would need to be for a successful system. Their research also revealed that the rocks below the campus are not aquifers and have very low permeability, which means that putting in a geothermal system would not be compromising a potential water supply.

Professor Al Werner with Monica Geraldes Vega ’22 at the Stoling Ceremony

The conductivity test (to find out how much heat could be extracted from the underlying rocks) confirmed that the rocks below campus are very good for geothermal. The rock formations start at just eight feet below the surface, which is advantageous for the system as it provides more geothermal heat conductivity due to less sediment. Their studies also revealed an interesting environmental history of the land over time, which led to a forthcoming publication.

We will be posting updates on this site as they become available to let students and faculty know about opportunities to engage in this campus as living lab experience.

Phase I gallery

View Gallery

Geothermal project phase one from a drone camera above campus

Laying down pipes during phase one of the geothermal project.

Digging trenches for the geothermal project

Repaving the walkways during phase one of the geothermal project

Reducing greenhouse gas emissions

In 2021, external consultants worked with the College to develop a master plan for reaching carbon neutrality in 2037, Mount Holyoke’s bicentennial. A directive was endorsed by the Trustees in 2018. The plan criteria was to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from utility consumption on campus (from heating and cooling campus buildings), to minimize the use of carbon offset purchasing as a way to reach carbon neutrality, to implement cost effective technologies that will meet future innovations, and to replace aging and outdated infrastructure with a more efficient, scalable, and modern system. The recommended option that provided the most cost-effective and carbon reducing solution was a ground source heat pump system with a geo-exchange array, or what we are simply calling geothermal. This will reduce the campus’ greenhouse gas emissions by 80% by 2030, and will modernize our 100 year old infrastructure to ensure compatibility with future technological advances.

Geothermal heat exchange

Geothermal heat exchange systems leverage the consistent and stable 50°–60°F temperatures underground to support the heating of buildings. Using water as a conduit, the system will reject heat from the buildings in the summer and store that heat in the ground for when we want to use it in the winter. The heat is moved around by a series of heat pumps at the building level and a system of deep bore holes and exchange loops under the ground. Heat pump technology that is available now can efficiently extract heat from even very cold air adding even more benefit to the system. Their performance efficiency is much stronger than steam, and can provide multiple units of energy for every unit of electricity used. This efficiency translates to lower energy consumption, reduced reliance on fossil fuels, and ultimately lower utility bills.

Differentiated from other renewable energy technologies like solar and wind, which rely on certain conditions in order to produce energy, geothermal exchange systems can function consistently due to the stability of temperatures below the Earth’s surface.

Carbon-free electricity

The geothermal system will operate using mostly electricity. The campus gets its electricity from the South Hadley Electric Light Department (SHELD). Nearly 90% of SHELD’s electricity comes from carbon-free sources, meaning that our carbon footprint from purchased electricity is next to zero.

Social media graphic for information represented below about the geothermal project.

It's time...

We are committed to reducing our environmental impact on the planet and have set the goal of carbon neutrality by 2037, Mount Holyoke College's 200th anniversary.

Miles

26 miles of geothermal piping to be installed under the Mount Holyoke Campus. The equivalent of two round trips to the Summit House.

230

Bores

230 geothermal bores will heat and cool 43 buildings or 1.6 million square feet.

600

Feet

Each vertical bore is 600 feet deep, equal to the height of 5 clock towers.

100%

Carbon neutrality

Mount Holyoke College is committed to 100% carbon neutrality. The next seven years will get us 80% there. The seven years after that will do the rest.

500%

Energy efficiencies

Ground energy resources enable energy efficiencies of 400-500%.

55°

Earth's constant temperature

Geothermal systems draw and reject heat from the earth's constant temperature (55° in Western Massachusetts), expelling heat in summer and gaining relative warmth in winter via geothermal bores.

Happening at Mount Holyoke