August 19, 2026
Decarb Debrief Ep. 4: Carleton College Campus Decarb
This session highlights a real-world application of campus district energy decarbonization strategies at Carleton College in Northfield, Minnesota. The case study is presented by RMF Director of Sustainability Martha Larson, RMF Sustainability Project Coordinator Alex Sherf, and Carleton College Maintenance Manager Mitch Miller.
Over the course of more than a decade, Carleton implemented a comprehensive decarbonization program that transformed its campus energy infrastructure. Key components of the initiative included transitioning the district energy system from steam to hot water, installing three geo-exchange bore fields borefields and a new geo-exchange heat pump plant, and converting the existing central plant to operate on hot water. The campus also expanded its use of on-site renewable energy, including a second wind turbines, solar thermal systems, and solar photovoltaic (PV) arrays.
The session explores both the strategic drivers and the practical implementation of this diverse portfolio of decarbonization technologies to gain insight into measurable outcomes, including reductions in campus energy use intensity, greenhouse gas emissions, and overall operating costs.