The U.S. Department of Energy’s Geothermal Technologies Office awarded HEET $8.6 million for the continuation of an initial design phase award. The project expands, or grows, the existing networked geothermal system in Framingham for the first time.
The resulting geothermal network design features heating and cooling capacity similar to the operating geothermal infrastructure in Framingham. Constructing the new network and interconnecting it to the existing network is intended to demonstrate geothermal utility growth or expansion potential.
The project is also intended to increase understanding of deployment, develop geothermal workforce, and quantify electric grid impacts – all while showcasing signficant cost reductions due to scaling efficiencies. This project taps geothermal energy, which is a rock solid, local, reliable, and abundant energy resource.
Ambient geothermal energy is the everywhere geothermal energy, found in the ground beneath our feet all over the globe. Geothermal heating and cooling technologies tap this “everywhere energy” to provide efficient building heating and cooling.
Interconnecting geothermal heating and cooling technology to form district-scale or utility-scale networks can increase efficiency, reducing both electric grid load and customer bills. These networks can also enable scaling, increasing energy independence, access to cooling, infrastructure investment, and jobs.
“This award is an opportunity and a responsibility to clearly demonstrate and quantify the growth potential of geothermal network technology,” said HEET’s Executive Director Zeyneb Magavi, “Which we will do, together with our partners and colleagues on the project team and at GTO. This project also represents the continuation of a collaboration that began when HEET first pitched our idea of geothermal networks to gas utilities in 2017.”
“We are excited to have been selected by the Department of Energy, alongside HEET and Eversource, to further expand the nation’s pioneering utility networked geothermal project right here in the City of Framingham,” said Mayor Charlie Sisitsky. “This innovative project not only showcases Framingham's commitment to sustainable energy solutions but also sets a precedent for other communities across the nation.”
