EIU Media Relations

City Residents to See Effects of Work Taking Place on EIU Campus

As work moves forward on Eastern Illinois University's new renewable energy center and other related energy saving projects, community residents will begin noticing the effects on portions of campus and in certain public areas.

According to Chad Weber, campus mechanical engineer, workers will begin to drain the pond located between Carman Hall and Ninth Street Hall on Monday, May 10. When conditions allow, crews will begin installing an underground line that will provide steam generated at the renewable energy center to support Carman, which is a student residence hall located near the southeastern part of campus.

The pond will be allowed to refill once the work is completed, probably in late summer.

Weber said the university will continue to update EIU and community residents about work taking place as part of an $80 million renewable energy and building retrofit program, which combines energy-efficient facility upgrades with a biomass-fueled heating plant. The program will help EIU address deferred maintenance, improve its infrastructure, and save approximately $140 million in energy and operating costs over the next two decades.