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.
At a Nov. 12 legislative committee meeting, proponents testified about a system that would use geothermal energy in neighborhood-scale district heating systems. A nonprofit organization is collaborating with utility companies to move ahead with what’s being called the GeoMicroDistrict system.