FARMINGTON — Selectmen heard more Tuesday about a large geothermal project planned at the University of Maine at Farmington.
The project highlights three significant factors, UMF President Kathryn Foster told the board.
A total of 80 geothermal wells will be installed in Mantor Green on campus to provide heat and cooling for several buildings. The project is expected to start in May and finish by the end of August. Three buildings are ready for geothermal systems and five more will be phased in.
The first significant factor is the economic impact by saving fuel costs for the university, Foster told the board.
Secondly, the project is also an important, Foster said, because it replaces fossil fuel with renewable energy.
With Preble, Thomas and Ricker buildings ready for geothermal this year, a savings of 27,000 gallons of fuel is expected, Ben Pratt, director of facilities management, told the board. After phasing in the library, computer center and three buildings on Main Street, a savings of 70,000 gallons of fuel are expected annually.
The third significant factor is an educational component. Signs detailing the work will be posted on a chain-link fence surrounding the project so people can watch the work and learn about geothermal systems, she explained.
“It will be an active classroom at times,” Pratt said.
The project requires removal of all trees on the 32,000-square-foot quad, preparing an empty space where perhaps graduation could be held after the project is completed, Pratt told the board.
During the anticipated 103-day project, about 6,000 cubic yards of sand will be removed, stored and returned to the quad. Trucks are expected to enter from both High and South streets, requiring closing South Street some days.
The contractor South Street to be closed a total of roughly two and a half weeks.
“It’s short term pain for long term gain,” Pratt said.
In other business, the board unanimously approved a pawnbroker’s license for Cory Boyker to open Pawnsters at the Front Street Exchange.
Police Chief Jack Peck assured the board that a detailed listing of items pawned would be reviewed by police.
abryant@sunjournal.com
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