Microsoft sets up large geothermal system for its campus
Microsoft building, Washington/ U.S. (source: flickr/ bfishadow, Julien G., creative commons)
Alexander Richter
2 Sep 2021
Software and tech giant Microsoft is setting up a large scale geothermal system to utilize hundreds of wells with heat pumps for heating and cooling of new campus.
Software company Microsoft has announced big plans for an addition to its campus in Redmond in the State of Washington in the U.S..
Part of the development is a planned Thermal Energy Center, so an article by Fast Company, that will serve as a thermal energy hub for the massive expansion.
The center will feature several tall thermal energy tanks fed by hundreds of geothermal wells drilled to a depth of around 550 feet (ca 168 meters), paired with heat pumps and 220 miles of piping through the campus.
The system is to create heating and cooling for the new buildings with a planned opening in 2023. It will replace conventional gas boilers and electric chillers and is expected to save the company up to 50% in electricity used today.
The company says this is likely one of the largest systems like this in North America and with 875 wells drilled it is expected to start operation in 2023.
For the full article see link below.
Source: FastCompany
Note: The Fast Company talks a lot about “geothermal power plant” and power etc … in this context it is to clarify that this is clearly a thermal set up only generating heating and cooling. We described this common mistake in the general media of mixing “power” (electricity) with “thermal energy” in an article in 2020 (here though with no clear reference to heat pumps).
