One of the many decarbonization challenges faced by electric utilities, particularly those who also have natural-gas-delivery businesses, is figuring out how to remove carbon emissions from the gas system. Should they investigate renewable natural gas as a replacement fuel or take the path of trying to get customers to convert everything to electricity? In Massachusetts, Eversource is pursuing a third option: geothermal. The utility is piloting the use of a geothermal loop that will connect 140 customers across nearly 40 buildings to provide a sustainable heating and cooling system regulated by the earth’s natural temperature. Our lead story has the details. |