According to an April 22nd report by Joe Burns for Facilities Dive, “Boston and the state of Massachusetts are trying to boost their energy infrastructure through financing programs, laws and executive orders.” Last May, Governor Maura Healey proposed the Energy Affordability, Independence & Innovation Act to provide financing to reduce the upfront costs of geothermal projects, which are significantly more affordable to operate once built, per the release.
Burns writes:
“The bill would reduce the up-front cost to build geothermal networks and establish new financing tools for customers to install equipment to more efficiently heat and cool buildings, according to a legislative fact sheet. These proposed changes are ideal for large colleges, businesses and hospital campuses that are looking to lower their energy use, costs and emissions related to building heating and cooling, the Mass Clean Energy Center said in its release.
The bill hasn’t been passed yet.
Healey also recently signed an executive order that directs state agencies to identify opportunities for geothermal energy, expedite licensing and permitting and address other hurdles to advancing thermal energy resources.
Thermal energy networks are a modern, combustion-free variant of district energy systems that move ambient-temperature water around a neighborhood for heating or cooling instead of using hot water or steam, according to the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center.
Connected buildings exchange thermal energy with the network and draw from connected thermal resources, including geothermal wells, waste heat from industrial facilities and data centers, sewers, surface water and outside air, Peter McPhee, senior program director of high performance buildings, and Meg Howard, senior program director of net zero grid at Mass CEC, wrote in the MassCEC report.
The BosTEN Project will explore how to capture thermal energy from the Charles and Mystic rivers, Boston Harbor, the Fort Point Channel and the bedrock underneath the rivers to deliver clean heating and cooling to nearby large buildings.
The project will examine factors such as the supply of thermal energy from those sources and anticipated demand, cost-effective methods for distributing the energy through the network and what regulatory and permitting barriers a project would face. If a thermal network seems feasible, it will also determine what steps could bring it to a stage that could attract investors.”
Read the full report here.