FAQs

• Click here to view an interactive map of areas on campus that are currently impacted..
• Click here to view a tentative timeline of the project with expected facility closures.

Most work during Phase I of the project will not be visible to the public and will cause minimal disruption. As the work increases, some sidewalks, roads and parking lots will be closed and surrounded with fencing while work crews conduct utility upgrades.

While almost all of the work will occur inside mechanical rooms, building occupants may experience construction noise and welding, odors and other disruptions as materials and equipment are moved.

Although most buildings will remain operable during the project, access to restrooms may be limited in buildings where work is happening, and Northwest may impose localized boil advisories limited to specific buildings.

Also worth noting, work on heating systems will occur during the summer months, and work on cooling systems will occur during the winter months.

Northwest plans to maximize state matching funds to help finance the project.

The University received $5 million in state-appropriated funds for the project in FY23.

Northwest plans to direct $25 million in state funds appropriated for FY24 and has requested another $25 million for FY25 to the project. The two $25 million appropriations are matching grants, meaning Northwest must secure an additional $50 million to receive the state funding and meet the project’s $105 million total cost. To do that, the University has earmarked $30 million for the project, and it anticipates borrowing the remaining $20 million.

The project emanates from the University’s Campus Master Plan, which was completed in 2016 and identified a need to address deferred maintenance, including the campus’s heating and cooling infrastructure that provides steam heating and hot water to about 75 percent, or 1.8 million square feet, of Northwest facilities. The critical utility infrastructure also includes HVAC building systems, electric distribution, domestic water, sanitary sewer and stormwater management.

Increasingly, Northwest’s antiquated centralized heating and cooling plant, as well as the utility infrastructure, are becoming problematic. Campus disruptions are occurring more frequently as a result of steam pipe leaks, breakdowns and component failures.

Currently, Northwest’s centralized heating plant provides steam heat to campus buildings with three natural gas boilers that were installed during the 1960s and are 27 to 33 years past their expected useful life. Two alternative fuel boilers in Northwest’s central heating plant are inoperable and beyond repair. Further, the boiler controls are antiquated electro-mechanical systems with limited capabilities.

Steam generated from the boilers is distributed to the buildings through 18,000 linear feet of piping in underground tunnels, which also have sustained substantial deterioration.

The centralized cooling plant consists of three chillers and cooling towers, two of which have exceeded their useful life.

In recent years, Northwest has converted standard lighting to LED technology and installed low-flow restroom fixtures, among other high-efficiency systems.

In combination with the energy infrastructure modernization project, the University expects to realize increased energy efficiencies and use its utility cost savings as part of its funding strategy for energy infrastructure upgrades.

Additionally, the upgrades will put Northwest on a path toward carbon neutrality.

Northwest’s powerhouse, located east of the Administration Building and known today as the John C. Redden Jr. Power Plant, has remained an essential part of the campus infrastructure throughout its history. The original structure was completed around 1910 and has been reconstructed to support campus expansion and the University’s evolving energy needs. The facility is connected by a two-mile network of utility tunnels throughout the campus that carry steam as well as HVAC-chilled water to more than 30 buildings.

In the late 1970s and early 1980s with the cost of fossil fuels skyrocketing, Northwest began implementing a successful alternative energy program. In 1983, Northwest began burning wood chips generated from manufacturing processes and created 69 percent of the power needed to heat the campus.

In 1993, the University began converting paper trash into burnable pellets. A few years later, animal waste generated at the University’s R.T. Wright Farm also was converted into pellets and added to the institution’s mix of alternative fuels, meeting as much as 90 percent of the campus’s energy needs. During a 35-year period, Northwest realized an estimated $16 million in savings as a result of its alternative energy program, compared to purchasing natural gas and oil.

In 2023, however, Northwest discontinued its use of alternative fuels due to its aging boilers and components, and the University began its work to modernize its energy infrastructure.