In addition to its environmental value, saving enough fossil-fuel energy to power a fifth of all the households in the City of Ithaca, reducing regional air pollution from power generation, speeding elimination of ozone-depleting refrigerants, and providing unprecedented insight into Cayuga Lake's ecology, Lake Source Cooling will direct many benefits into the community.
- The Ithaca City School District will save more than $100,000 in capital expense for a new chiller it would have had to build and $750,000 in cooling costs over the next 20 years. The "K" parking lot will be resurfaced, with sidewalks added as well.
- The City of Ithaca will receive $1.2 million in free water mains, storm and sanitary sewers, and roads and sidewalks. When work is done, there will be safer pedestrian access to Ithaca High and Boynton Middle Schools, safer curves on Gun Shop Hill, and an improved intersection at Lake Street and University Avenue. The city is also replacing and upgrading, at greatly reduced cost, badly outdated utility lines in the construction area.
- The Town of Ithaca's first parkland on the lake will be landscaped and turned over to the town, which will also have the first opportunity to purchase the marina on East Shore Drive should it be sold.
- Workers, builders, and suppliers from our area will share in approximately $20 million in contracts and salaries, far more than replacing the current chillers would pump into the local economy. And by selecting the Tompkins County Industrial Development Agency as its bonding authority, Cornell will channel to the agency $250,000 in service fees, to establish a permanent, revolving source of seed money to foster the creation and retention of jobs here.
