OSWEGO -- Construction has begun at SUNY Oswego on a project to drill deep into the earth and tap into an unlimited energy supply.

As part of the college’s $118 million science and engineering corridor, construction crews are drilling 240 holes 499 feet into the ground on campus. That will allow the college to tap into a geothermal energy supply.

Director of Construction and Engineering,  John Moore explains that the temperature at that depth is consistently 56 degrees Fahrenheit. Through the use of heat exchangers, Moore says the school will be able to pump water through pipes to cool buildings in the summer and heat them in the winter.  "If we are bringing in 35 degree water going into the hole, it should come out somewhere around 50 degrees.  With that extra water temperature, I can extract the heat with a heat exchange system inside the building that will allow me to heat the building."  Moore explained.

Moore says the geothermal project will be part of a ‘living laboratory’, where they will be able to calculate cost savings over conventional heating and cooling technologies.

The college has warned neighbors they may have to put up with noise from the drilling operation through September. The facility is expected to be completed in 2013.