Massachusetts utility Eversource is commissioning what it calls a first-in-the-nation utility-led thermal energy network—a pilot project in the Boston suburb of Framingham that connects 24 single family homes, 100 city housing apartment units, some public structures and five commercial buildings to provide 135 total customers with heating and cooling from a renewable source.
Eversource said it will decide if utility-scale geothermal networks can “feasibly and affordably” be expanded or replicated in other “densely populated and mixed-use areas of New England” after it finishes analyzing the network’s performance during two heating and cooling seasons. The pilot will help determine if such a system can replace legacy energy sources—such as natural gas, air source heat pumps or delivered fuels such as heating oil and propane—or be used in tandem with existing heating and cooling systems.
