The Massachusetts legislature is considering a bill that would allow utilities to buy geothermal energy instead of natural gas for heat and hot water. The “Act for utility transition to using renewable energy (FUTURE)” was proposed after a September 2018 explosion in the natural gas system in the Merrimack Valley in northeast Massachusetts. One person was killed and 131 homes and other structures were damaged or destroyed in that catastrophe.
At a Nov. 12 legislative committee meeting, proponents testified about a system that would use geothermal energy in neighborhood-scale district heating systems that would reuse existing utility infrastructure. A nonprofit organization is collaborating with utility companies to move ahead with what’s being called the GeoMicroDistrict system.