Earth Source Heat

Earth Source Heat

This diagram shows two wells drilled vertically, and then horizontally under a university campus. The first well is blue to indicate that cold water is being pumped down. The second well is parallel and is shown in red to indicate that hot water is being pumped back to the surface. Water flows from blue to red through a network of cracks in the rock, and absorbs heat as it moves through the cracks and fissures.
Credit: Hadassah Jahani

Earth Source Heat is a research program that investigates the science, engineering, policy, community implications and technological feasibility of harvesting renewable thermal energy from deep within the earth. The Earth Source Heat program has provided opportunities to conduct research and serve as a demonstration project for other institutions or communities seeking new approaches to sustainable energy. With further funding, research and partnership, Earth Source Heat has the potential to provide a source of renewable heat to meet our campus energy needs. To support energy efficiency work everywhere, the Cornell team has presented at conferences, published reports and papers and placed a complete set of data and samples in the New York State Museum. Learn more about a summary of research associated with Earth Source Heat.

What is Earth Source Heat?

Earth Source Heat (ESH) is an enhanced geothermal system (EGS) that would use earth’s internal heat to warm our campus - a strategy more generically known as deep direct use geothermal.  
Wells would be drilled into “basement rock” where the internal heat of the earth keeps temperatures near the boiling point of water. Cold water circulated through the wells returns to the surface as hot water for campus heating and potential electricity production. 

Our Living Laboratory

The benefits, challenges, and risks associated with developing new energy systems require thorough and thoughtful examination. While similar projects have succeeded in other areas, this type of project has never been attempted at a location with the conditions present in upstate New York. Our faculty and staff have extensive expertise in developing renewable energy systems and have studied large-scale geothermal systems around the world. This expertise, combined with our history of creating and deploying new energy systems on campus (such as Lake Source Cooling), make Cornell exceptionally well suited to explore this technology. 

This diagram shows the temperature profile of water flowing through a series of parallel flow pathways between a cold well (blue) and a hot well (red). The colors change as the water flows between wells to show how the liquid absorbs heat to be transferred to the surface.
Credit: Beckers et. al 2024

In 2022, a research well called the Cornell University Borehole Observatory (CUBO) was drilled to a depth of almost 10,000 feet below the campus. The CUBO project was a partnership between the Department of Energy and the university. CUBO showed that temperatures at depth are an excellent match for Cornell’s efficient district energy system, but that low permeability of the rock will require engineering a system of fractures (Beckers et. al 2024) for water to flow through. Faculty and staff worked with CUBO data to understand the potential for Earth Source Heat to meet campus energy needs, as well as implications for deep geothermal development in many other locations.

As a living laboratory campus, Cornell uses our energy and campus systems to explore solutions that can scale beyond our walls and are good for people and the planet. 
While Cornell is ultimately interested in reducing our fossil fuel footprint, we are also keenly interested in understanding the impacts of technology choices like Earth Source Heat and helping to ensure that methods used to extract heat from deep in the earth do not create unacceptable risks or impacts. 

Our scientists are committed to studying and addressing these issues in a thorough and transparent manner, developing best practices that will minimize risk and provide guidance for others who might implement this technology.

Status Today

More data is required before deciding whether a full-size demonstration system can be built. A project called CUBO Phase II has been designed to drill deeper, collect rock samples, install sensors, conduct tests and equip the well as a long-term research and teaching tool. The CUBO Phase II project is intended to get to a Go/No-Go decision point, where a decision to build a complete demonstration system and integrate it with the campus district energy system for long term testing, performance monitoring and evaluation.  The university has sought partners to share costs, risks and ensure that the benefits of the program remain free-to-access in the public domain. Although those partners have not been identified, the university’s Energy and Sustainability team continues working on other innovative and exciting projects to transform the campus energy system.