The University of Virginia has plans to expand the Fontaine Research Park to include the new Paul and Dianne Manning Biotechnology Institute. The state institution has now filed plans with Albemarle County for a new energy plant that will provide utilities to the institute.
“The Fontaine Central Energy Plant will provide district heating and cooling at the Fontaine Research Park,” reads the executive summary. “It will be master planned in the project, with utility corridors route to the property, to serve any building in the future up to $1.4 million gross square feet of space.”
The materials state that this will be the first “zero combustion” Central Energy Plant with no use of fossil fuels required. The plant will use thermal energy and geothermal storage as part of a suite of strategies.
There will be room at the site for a future data center that is not part of this application.
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