Geothermal technologies tap into the nearly limitless natural supply of thermal energy in the ground available year-round, regardless of weather conditions. In Framingham, Massachusetts, New England's largest energy provider is testing the power of this technology.
The project is a first-of-its-kind engineering effort that will retrofit a portion of the Framingham community from natural gas and delivered fuels over to a geothermal heat pump network operating on an ambient temperature loop. Until now, no other utility in the U.S. has attempted to connect so many disparate stakeholders in an open, public environment.
Partnering with CDM Smith, Eversource has developed the first Geothermal Network Pilot Program in the U.S. Approved by the Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities, participants will pay a low fixed charge each month for access to the geothermal network. They will be responsible for their electric bill that will power the heat pump. However, their monthly energy costs should ultimately decrease, because they will no longer be primarily paying for natural gas or delivered fuels to heat and cool their homes and businesses.
“In the region we live in, we have to innovate and get creative,” said Nikki Bruno, director of clean technologies at Eversource at a town hall meeting hosted by the International Ground Source Heat Pump Association.
