After drilling deep into the bedrock beneath New York City, crews are nearing completion on a geothermal installation beneath St. Patrick’s Cathedral. A $177-million renovation of the 137-year-old Gothic Revival cathedral was finished in mid-2015, but less-visible work to install a geothermal system continued into 2016.
“Drilling wells like this in the middle of Manhattan, it hasn’t necessarily been done before,” says Michael Graniello, vice president of StructureTone, which is managing the project. “There are other geothermal installations in New York City, but none quite as big or elaborate.”