(Credit: Pixabay)The University of Iowa has announced it will invest $1 billion in energy efficiencies, water management, and sustainability initiatives across two campuses. The school is partnering with Meridiam and Engie North America on a project spanning 1,700 acres in Iowa City, Iowa. These campuses together form one of the largest university footprints in the United States.
Founded in 1847, the University of Iowa is the state’s oldest institution of higher education, enrolling a diverse population of students of varying educational and demographic backgrounds on its campuses. It is one of the nation’s premier public universities with top-tier programs in the health sciences, special distinction in the arts, and the #1 creative writing program in the US (40+ Pulitzer Prize-winning faculty and alumni).
Meridiam and Engie will be 50/50 partners in an organization that is locally resourced and will concretely contribute to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and allow the university to meet its energy transition objectives.
Under this agreement, Engie will operate, maintain, optimize, and improve the on-campus utility systems for the university. The scope includes providing heating, cooling, and electricity to the campuses through a dedicated network while also managing high quality and sanitary water and storm sewer services.
One of the key features of this agreement is to help the university transition to coal-free energy production on campus by January 1, 2025, if not sooner. Engie and Meridiam will also work with the university to assure:
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