A $1.34 million federal grant is turning Indiana Tech green.

A partnership with Fort Wayne-based WaterFurnace International is bringing a 130-ton geothermal system to provide heating and cooling to the campus's administration building, which is already under renovation. But President Arthur E. Snyder said the project won't stop there.

“(We have) plans going forward for a sustainable energy source for all buildings,” he said.

Snyder said the campus will start with the administration building and then move to connect the Zollner Engineering Center to the geothermal system. He said eventually Indiana Tech will install the same system on the other side of campus so that most, if not all, buildings can run with geothermal technology.

The geothermal project is using technology not yet available commercially and has not been implemented at this scale in the United States, according to a news release. “We are developing innovative and cost-effective compressor and control technologies, as well as a system that uses carbon dioxide as a refrigerant,” WaterFurnace President and CEO Tom Huntington said in the release. “Coolant sources that have traditionally been used, like Freon, can be harmful to the environment, so this is an important step forward.”

Snyder added that, along with the energy savings, the system will also provide students with increased knowledge and experience. He said faculty and students will get to work alongside WaterFurnance employees during the entire project.

“The geothermal field and the green renovation of the administration building will offer our engineering students a living laboratory to investigate cutting-edge developments in alternative and renewable energy design with leaders in that field,” said Dave Aschliman, dean of the College of Engineering and Computer Sciences at the university, in the release.

Snyder expects the system to be online by July and then have the Zollner building up and running by 2011. He said Zollner will need to be retrofitted to use the system.

The total cost of the five-year geothermal project is $2.68 million, with the university paying half.

“(This project is) a win-win with government, with industry and with education,” Snyder said.