HANOVER, N.H. (WCAX) – Dartmouth College has set an ambitious goal to become carbon zero by 2050, meaning fossil fuels to power the campus will become a thing of the past. To get there, the Ivy League school has embarked on the largest investment in sustainability in its history.
When it comes to future construction projects at Dartmouth College, the Big Green is thinking green.
“They are definitely doing all the construction work at once, which is a little disruptive to campus and people getting around, but I think that is it great that they are doing it,” said Leila Brady, a Dartmouth sophomore.
A $500 million construction project is underway to bring the campus’s carbon use down to zero. The first goal is to reduce emissions by 60 percent by 2030. To do that, along with improving the energy efficiency of buildings already there, the campus is switching to a geothermal-style energy system.
“Once we have tackled the more energy efficient buildings, we look at how do we switch from burning number six fuel oil to what we call geo-exchange. Essentially, bore holes in the ground that use the ambient temperature of the ground to provide energy,” said the college’s Josh Keniston.
The school is still working on a complete plan to reach its 2050 target as well as the total price tag. But students on campus will be part of the solution. “What are the energy solutions, what are the policy solutions that will put the things on the table that we need, that will get to that 100 percent,” Keniston said.
Brady will have graduated by then but can say she was here when it all began. “If Dartmouth is working to educate us as leaders I think that they themselves should be a leader and I think that this is a good initiative to do and for other colleges to follow,” she said.
The $500 million will be spent over the next five years, however, the college’s goal towards carbon zero will continue for generations to come.