MACA's plan for 100% decarbonization of the MIT campus by 2035
Winner of the EnergyTech University Prize for Geothermal Technologies
The MACA Campus team is led by Susan Murcott at MIT. She is an environmental engineer and a Lecturer in D-Lab where she teaches a course on Water, Climate Change, and Health. She has led MIT student teams in over 25 countries spanning five continents, including projects on access to safe water and disaster relief. Click to meet the Campus team.
On February 28, 2024, MACA requested MIT to set a goal of 100% decarbonization by 2035, conduct a third-party review of our campus decarbonization plan by appropriately qualified experts, commit to a pilot project to demonstrate feasibility, and enter into dialog on the campus decarbonization options.
MACA's “Innovative Plan to Cost Effectively Decarbonize MIT’s Campus” achieves a 100% decarbonized MIT campus by 2035". The plan implements available, proven technology, enabling cost-effective enhancements of the existing campus, avoiding purchase of carbon offsets, minimizes risk of disruption to campus operations due to shallow drilling, with an estimated cost of $250M, or $175M if Federal IRA funds are included.
MACA's technical plan is for an “Advanced District Heating and Cooling System with Active Exhaust Energy Recovery & Ground Coupled Thermal Storage”. It includes 100% renewable energy power, recycling of laboratory exhaust, “active” ambient loop for chilled water, thermal batteries for grid energy, capturing of “free energy” from campus, and minimization of cost for operations.
