Emissions from the building sector are rising — making up anywhere from 14 to 40 percent of greenhouse gas emissions in the Midwest. Continuing to use methane gas to heat homes or businesses also exposes customers to financial volatility, fatal explosions, and other adverse health impacts.
Early alternatives, like air source heat pumps, work technologically, but can create unintended consequences of leaving customers stranded on an aging and costly gas distribution network. Instead, communities have a local energy resource — thermal energy in the ground — that can be tapped to safely deliver low-carbon heating and cooling.
Networked geothermal and other district energy technologies can be scaled quickly, are more cost- and energy-efficient than individual geothermal systems or air source heat pumps, and include whole neighborhoods, instead of stranding those with the most need on the legacy gas network. Geothermal and other district energy technologies also require the same skills held by workers in the gas industry.
On September 21, 2022, the Energy We Can’t Afford Coalition and special guests from Minnesota to Massachusetts hosted a webinar to dig into this new technology:
Given its potential for support across a wide range of stakeholders, geothermal microgrids and district systems could play a key role in building decarbonization — even in cold climates.
More resources:
- Read “What’s up with networked geothermal?,” a blog from Fresh Energy.
- Read “Why President Biden’s order to increase production of energy-saving technologies isn’t enough,” a commentary by ILSR co-director John Farrell.
- Read ILSR’s report on water main geothermal or listen to a Local Energy Rules podcast episode featuring author, educator, and geothermal consultant Jay Egg.
- Watch a recording of the roundtable discussion hosted by Steamfitters Pipefitters Local 455, Fresh Energy, and the BlueGreen Alliance: Creating Family-Sustaining Jobs Through Climate-Smart Ground-Source and Geothermal Heat Pumps and District Energy Systems.