Event / Athletic Center Makes Zero Net Energy Commitment
By Paul Braun
Imagine a project that puts a new 100-yard turfed practice field under a roof at a Division III university . Or a project that creates an arena that accommodates up to 5,000 spectators for basketball and other events . Or a project that provides a fitness center that serves a student body of nearly 10,000 . Better yet , do all three at once and make the whole thing zero net energy .
That ’ s what the County Materials Complex ( CMC ), an event center / fieldhouse / fitness center facility at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire , is destined to deliver by the summer of 2024 . The $ 110 million , 225,900-square-foot CMC is designed from head to toe to be as sustainable as practical , delivering on a zero net energy goal with a geothermal system encompassing 36 miles of on-site piping and a proposed offsite solar facility that will more than meet the energy demands of the all-electric complex .
14 | TRENDS Ingenuity , Integrity , and Intelligence .