At the instigation of the Massachusetts Attorney General, Maura Healey, the Department of Public Utilities (DPU) has ordered that the gas companies must plan to meet the state’s 2050 net zero goal. The utilities have to hire a consultant to review their plans for meeting state carbon goals. For example, the consultant will decide if…
Most of you have heard by now about the GeoMicroDistrict, the HEET proposal for heating and cooling our homes and businesses with networked geothermal systems. This proposal is moving from an idea to a reality with many proposed pilots. Drilling geothermal boreholes in England Eversource Gas has requested permission from the Department of Public Utilities…
With all three big gas utilities in the state likely to pilot geothermal, we are looking for potential sites. Do you want it on your street? Do you know of a developer who might be interested? Do you want us to talk to your town? Let us know here. This map shows all the locations…
In July, just a few days before the legislative session was scheduled to end, the Massachusetts House passed its own climate bill, with proposed amendments to the Senate Next Generation Climate Policy. Since the legislative session was extended, both bills are now in conference committee to see what final law will emerge. The house bill…
When the coronavirus struck Massachusetts, Ana Javier of the Merrimack Valley Project identified families in Lawrence who were under economic stress and had trouble accessing food due to language barriers or other concerns. Ana worked with her community and the employees and Board of HEET to get food delivered. After the first delivery, Ana received…
Massachusetts gas distribution utilities have been required since 2014 to report annually to the Department of Public Utilities the location of gas leaks and leak repairs in their territories. For five years, HEET has used the data in these reports to create detailed maps showing where gas leaks and repairs are located in over 300…
HEET received a national sustainability award! Together with Buro Happold Engineering, we won the American Planning Association (APA) Sustainable Communities Division award for the networked geothermal feasibility study. The study explores whether replacing segments of the aging natural gas infrastructure in Massachusetts with ground source heat pump technology can meet heating and cooling needs at…
There was a lot of ENERGY in the room during the four Utility-Scale Geothermal sessions in MIT’s January IAP (Independent Activities Period). Participants included people from MIT, Grey Edge, Eversource, National Grid, ERDA Energy, NEGPA, NYGEO, University of New Hampshire, many state regulatory agencies, and the Cities of Boston and Cambridge. Together they took on…
The Massachusetts Senate has just announced their Next Generation Climate Policy Legislation, S.2477 and it directs the Department of Public Utility to allow pilots by gas companies of ‘Utility-Scale Renewable Thermal Energy’! This is great news for our Energy Shift project. Read more about the legislation here.