January 16, 2020
NC State adds thermal energy storage to its energy assets
When North Carolina voters passed a higher education bond referendum in 2000 that funded several new campus buildings, [North Carolina State University] expanded its commitment to district energy by developing a central chilled-water system for each campus.
Today the university is powered by five central utility plants providing steam, chilled water and electricity to nearly 15 million gross sq ft of building space on the three campuses. The newest asset currently being added to NC State’s district energy portfolio is a stratified 25,000 ton-hr chilled-water storage tank at the Centennial Campus Utility Plant.