Loomis Chaffee Oil and Gas Usage
Maia Gorgan ’26
Julia Liu ’26
Although the school is pursuing sustainability, Loomis Chaffee still uses oil and gas as a major energy source. The question then becomes: is our institution doing anything about this reliance on non-renewable energies? Have there been any conscious efforts to change and reduce our carbon emissions? As Mr. Dyreson, the Associate Director of the Alvord Center and science department faculty suggests, LC has taken many steps to solve the looming issue of fossil fuel usage.
At Loomis Chaffee, 20% of the school’s electricity is generated from solar arrays on campus. The rest of its power is sourced from the grid, which is a combination of fossil fuels as well as renewable energy. Oil and gas on campus are primarily used for heating, and occasionally transportation is also responsible for the school’s carbon emissions. The dorms use steam heating to keep their residents warm during the winter with boilers in the physical plant. Previously, the school heated the dorms by burning coal, and this conversion to steam or natural gasses is a step in the right direction for the school, considering natural gas is a “bridge fossil fuel” which makes it much cleaner than the burning of oil or coal. According to Student Energy “Steam methane reforming (SMR) is a process in which methane from natural gas is heated, with steam and a catalyst, to produce synthetic fuel.”
For heating, the faculty houses, however, continue to be oil-burning. There has been an effort to transfer their heating to natural gasses or to heat pump mini-splits which use electricity. Yet, currently, no major changes have been made. Nonetheless, faculty houses also have been, little by little, undergoing a complete weatherization, which protects them from the cold and extreme weather to conserve energy. Namely, windows are being replaced and the houses are being insulated, causing them to need a lot less oil to stay warm.
Gasoline is also continually used on campus, regardless of it being a small portion of the school's carbon emissions story.
“Over time, the school has become more efficient, however, we haven't shifted completely away from those energy sources quite yet” mentions Mr. Dyreson, the Associate Director of the Alvord Center and science department faculty. “Our school is aware of its improvements regarding its carbon footprint, as we have hired an outside organization to track our carbon.”
Over time, data has shown that the school has become more efficient in their fossil fuel emissions, however, improvements still need to be made. The school will be looking at a cogeneration plant, where natural gas can be used to power a generator to make electricity. In the long term, shifting away from natural gas will mean electrically powered heating and cooling that will take over oil and coal.
