Eversource Breaks Ground On Geothermal System In Framingham

FRAMINGHAM, MA — Framingham is home to a new Eversource pilot program testing a new way to provide heating and cooling for utility customers.

The company broke ground on a new, first-of-its-kind, utility-scale networked geothermal system this week. It will test if the system is a viable and affordable way to heat and cool homes and businesses at scale.

According to Eversource, geothermal technology works by transferring heat to and from the earth using water, wells, piping and pumps to pull the earth’s heat out of the ground to warm buildings in winter and pump heat from buildings back into the ground in summer to cool them.

Approximately 40 single-family homes, apartment buildings, businesses and a fire station will be connected to the “loop” through a new network of pipes that Eversource and its local contractor, R.H. White Construction, are building underground, officials said.

The networked geothermal system will be tested in Framingham’s Concord Street neighborhood, where the energy company already provides services to a diverse group of customers – single- and multi-residential and commercial – all within a dense neighborhood, officials said.

Following successful testing last year, drilling for the system’s wells will begin at three designated bore fields in the area.

Approved by the Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities (DPU) in 2020, the Geothermal Pilot Program is a study to explore if a networked system can be used instead of, or in combination with, traditional energy sources like natural gas, air source heat pumps or delivered fuels like heating oil and propane, and if the utility-scale system could be expanded or replicated in other Massachusetts communities.

Eversource will evaluate the pilot program through two full heating and cooling seasons and determine if the technology is a cost-effective option that could be used as part of the unprecedented transition to clean energy sources in Massachusetts, officials said.

For Eversource officials, this is a test in the hopes that the company can develop and expand the clean technologies it utilizes for the utilities it provides.

“We all know that our state and our region face significant climate challenges and our geothermal project in Framingham is a great example of how we’ll build that clean energy future in addition to our investments in technologies like solar, battery storage, electric vehicle charging station and more,” said Eversource President, CEO and Chairman Joe Nolan.

“While we aim to be a leader and a catalyst, we need collaboration and partnership to achieve the clean energy future that everyone wants. We’re here today because so many stakeholders are willing to support this test of a promising new technology.”

Eversource found a willing partner for that collaboration in Framingham.

“The City of Framingham is thrilled that Eversource had chosen this community to be the site for the first-ever utility-scaled network geothermal project in America,” said Framingham Mayor Charlie Sisitsky.

“When completed the City of Framingham’s Fire Station on Concord Street, a portion of the former Farley School on Flagg Drive, along with almost 100 Framingham Housing Authority units and about 3 dozen private homes and businesses will operate on a geothermal network that will provide indoor heating & cooling. This project proves collaboration can create a clean, innovative energy option for the City.”