Energy Master Plan & Implementation

Salas O’Brien’s 2021 energy master plan established Amherst College’s road map to campus electrification via a geothermal strategy integrated with other solutions to facilitate cost optimization, renewable-source power, resiliency, reliability, and alignment with general campus capital projects. Developed by a collaborative, multi-office team of Salas O’Brien renewable energy system specialists, these measures are now in the phased implementation stages outlined in the plan.

The overall energy master plan was informed by detailed assessments of eight campus buildings, providing baseline energy use profiles to inform the comprehensive energy master plan, providing cost estimates for low-temperature heating hot water conversion, and identifying potential Energy Conservation Measures (ECMs) as well as their costs and energy savings potential. Building assessments additionally established the cost and energy impacts of adding air conditioning to existing buildings.