University at Buffalo to reuse heat from supercomputing center
The University at Buffalo last week announced that its North Campus will reuse heat energy put off by a supercomputing center being developed with funding from the state government and philanthropists.
According to press materials, the arrangement will “significantly” reduce carbon emissions. The supercomputing initiative, called Empire AI, is intended to promote general research and advance work that betters humanity.
“We have to acknowledge that the cost of doing nothing is not zero,” Laura Hubbard, vice president for finance and administration at UB, said in the press release. “Much of our heating and cooling infrastructure on the North Campus is roughly 60 years old and approaching the end of its useful life. By tying Empire AI directly into our clean energy master plan, we’re modernizing critical systems, cutting emissions and improving energy efficiency, all while supporting a once-in-a-generation investment in research.”
The energy project will include connecting the supercomputing center to a chilled water plant via 30-inch “neutral temperature” water pipes and a network of geothermal wells. According to the release, “this integrated system will allow heat generated by Empire AI’s high-performance computing infrastructure to be recovered and redistributed to campus buildings, reducing overall energy use and accelerating UB’s path to carbon neutrality.”
The work is funded by $62 million provided by the state government. An additional $6 million will be used to fund an energy hub project on the University at Buffalo’s South Campus.
