William S. (Lanny) Joyce, PE, CEM has over 30 years of experience in district energy, campus utility systems, district cooling, deep water cooling, combined heat and power, building energy and control systems, and commercial and industrial refrigeration. He brings this wealth of experience to his advisory board role with OTE in the development of district cooling and energy systems based on innovative deep water technology. Lanny created and led the award-winning Lake Source Cooling deep water based chilled water system project at Cornell that reduced energy use for cooling by 86% versus the innovative chiller and thermal storage based system that it replaced. This project came online in 2000 and has resulted in a consistent 0.1 kW/ton average efficiency saving 25 million kWhr/year and garnering 7 major New York State, national, and international awards.
Lanny retired from Cornell University in 2018 and serves as a consultant to owners, engineers, and manufacturers as a expert in sustainable energy systems. In this role, he helps leaders, companies, and users in creating and maintaining energy systems that accomplish their goals with a minimum of environmental impact.
He served as Director of Utilities and Energy Management from 2014 to 2018 in the Energy and Sustainability Department at Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, and has over 30 years of experience in district energy and building energy systems at Cornell. At his retirement, Lanny was awarded with the first ever Sustainable Leadership Award at Cornell University along with the Division of Facilities Services Keystone Award, their highest recognition. Lanny and his team lead Cornell’s utility plants (steam, electric, chilled water, domestic water), distribution systems, and energy management program. He also works with other staff in Energy and Sustainability in creating the Climate Action Plan and developing renewable energy projects to help meet the University’s ambitious goals to achieve climate neutrality by 2035.
Over his 34 year career, Lanny provided leadership for over $250 million in central plant and building energy projects at Cornell. He led the campus wide $45 million Energy Conservation Initiative and energy management program from 2001 to 2015 which kept energy use flat while campus space grew by 20%. He was the project director for the $83 million Combined Heat and Power Project which allowed the university to eliminate coal, reduce campus overall inventoried carbon emissions by over 30%, exceed its stated Kyoto compliance goal, and usher in a new era of high efficiency heating and electricity. Lanny was project manager for the ASHRAE society level Technology Award winning 4.4 million gallon (30,000 ton-hr) Thermal Storage Project, and many additional central chilled water, water filter plant, and utility distribution projects at Cornell.
Lanny has a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering from Cornell with distinction and is a member of the Association of Heating, Refrigerating, and Air Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) and the Association of Energy Engineers (AEE). He is a long term past member of the International District Energy Association (IDEA).