Could Your Street be the First geothermal network?

March 1, 2021

Eversource is selecting a street segment now for its networked geothermal pilot. And you could be the person who identifies the site. It would be especially useful if the site suggested includes a developer or owner of a multi-unit building.

The pilot will go in the ground this year––the first of its kind in Massachusetts! The system will be safer, have lower energy bills, and improve air quality. 

$10 million has been approved to design and create a pilot in Eversource gas territory. An ideal location includes: 

  • Both residential, including low income, and commercial buildings 
  • Approximately 100 units
  • A building that needs cooling, like a supermarket or ice rink 
  • Preferably areas with gas leaks, or where gas pipe replacement is planned 

Over the next 20 years, utilities are planning to replace aging gas pipes with new infrastructure––a $14 billion investment in fossil fuel infrastructure. Instead, we could use that money to invest in safe, clean, healthy geothermal networks.

On HEET’s map, you can see whether leak-prone pipe replacement is planned for your street. Zoom in to an address, and click the icon of a person with a shovel to see the estimated cost of the project. Pipe replacement on Common St. in Lawrence will cost $989,372. On Newbury street, it will cost $1,112,952. 

Instead of getting an upgrade to an aging and costly gas system, your street could transition to renewable and efficient geothermal. 

Have ideas for the pilot location? Let us know here