Nearly a year and a half after its completion, the Thermal Energy System located between the Levinson Building and the Grace Van Dyke Bird Library remains unused.

“We have some engineering items that we’re trying to address and take care of, and it’s taking a lot longer than we would like,” said LaMont Schiers, executive director of Administrative Services for Bakersfield College.

The million-gallon tank, completed in Spring 2010, acts as a cold water reservoir for use in the campus’ air conditioning system.

Water is chilled at night and pulled from the tank during daytime peak usage hours.

It is expected to save the college on energy costs by reducing gas and electricity consumption and avoiding costly surcharges from the power company.

The project has faced setbacks in the final stages of integration with the cooling system’s water circulation line, commonly referred to as the chiller loop.

“The opportunity is just the interface between the tank and the loop. Once those are resolved it will be brought online,” said Schiers.

He stated that the contractor is being held responsible for the functionality of the tank.

“There were some expectations that weren’t met, and so we’re trying to iron that out,” said Schiers.

Work is being done at the district level between the contractor and facilities management to ensure the tank and chiller loop are linked up and operational in the near future.

The Thermal Energy System is one of several projects undertaken by BC in 2009 as part of a state and PG&E funded campuswide green initiative.