Thread by @_jay_turner

Our local gas utility did something exciting yesterday. It broke ground on a community geothermal network.

Instead of selling natural gas for heating, @EversourceMA is piloting a new role for utilities in advancing a low-carbon future.

A few reasons this is so exciting:

1. The cost for geothermal is high, but this strategy allows the utility to shoulder the upfront costs and then charge customers for access to the #geogrid network. It is an approach that has the potential to make geothermal accessible to everyone.

2. Utilities employ or contract with at a lot of people to build and maintain natural gas networks. This pilot shows a future where those workers could run pipes for community geothermal systems, instead of maintaining aging natural gas networks.

eversource.com/content/reside…

3. A community geothermal system serving a mix of residential and commercial customers - like this pilot - is even more efficient than regular geothermal (which is already super efficient). This project will link together 37 homes and 5 businesses in Framingham, Massachusetts.

4. This project shows the power of innovative thinking and partnership. A forward-looking non-profit @HEET_MA hatched this idea a few years ago. So exciting to see their vision getting tested in the field!

heet.org

This article from @jeffsaintjohn provides a great intro on this pilot and similar projects elsewhere in the country. canarymedia.com/articles/utili…

On this theme, here is another article on a big ground-source heat pump project to serve another kind of community - an apartment building! @mariagallucci

canarymedia.com/articles/geoth…

And a really well-reported article from @emilypont on the Framingham, MA pilot project.

https://twitter.com/emilypont/status/1668655113945186304?s=20

@emilypont And @drvolts did a podcast on HEET's vision for networked geothermal!

https://twitter.com/drvolts/status/1668673550067326976?s=20