Goal: This team is building a coalition to co-create a strategy for geothermal and other kinds of thermal energy networks in Vermont, prioritizing multiple ownership models to support affordable housing, to make this clean energy solution available to more Vermonters, and to help meet our state mandated climate goals.
Summary
Networked geothermal is a promising but mainly unexplored solution for Vermont’s thermal sector. Unlike deep wells needed to heat an individual home, these systems use shallow boreholes and water-filled loops to both heat and cool an entire street or village center. The more neighborhoods are linked to the network the more affordable and efficient it becomes, offering an equitable way to transition off of fossil fuels and other polluting heating sources.
These underground networks not only reduce greenhouse gas emissions dramatically, but also provide healthier indoor air, safety, resiliency, minimal land impacts, and comparable jobs for current gas workers. They can also harness other thermal sources such as excess heat from large buildings, grocery stores, or even wastewater systems. Systems are designed to exchange and balance temperatures between buildings, minimizing drilling, shaving peak demands on the electric grid, and maximizing efficiency and affordability.
Geothermal and other kinds of thermal energy networks are tried and true, but very few people have heard of them. We know they work, as they have been operational on college campuses and in different geographies for years. As industry moves to scale them nationally, our task is to implement them strategically and equitably in Vermont on both the utility and the community levels.
Collaborating with the Vermont Community Geothermal Alliance, this team is engaging a wide range of technical and financial experts, state and local leaders, community representatives, and national resources to inform decision-makers and develop projects. We are working to enable a more rapid implementation of thermal energy networks by addressing known financial, ownership, and workforce barriers as well as creating the understanding and support needed to help this much-needed solution succeed at scale in Vermont.
To learn more about thermal energy networks, visit vcga.net.
Register for Thermal Energy Networks for Vermont, a three-part webinar series, or any of the individual webinars.
Network Action Team Members include:
Central Vermont Regional Planning Commission, Efficiency Vermont, Green Mountain Power, VEDA, VEIC, Vermont Bond Bank, VGS, and others with legal, financial, clean energy, and community organizing experience.
Consulting with leaders from Vermont Technical College, Labor, Vermont Council on Rural Development, University of Vermont Gund Institute for the Environment, National coalitions and experts
Pitch and Q&A from EAN 2022 Summit
Pitch presented by
- Debbie New, Same Planet
- Dorie Seavey, Energy Policy Research Economist
- Matt Burke, UVM Community Development and Applied Economics & Gund Institute
- Dan Costin, Vermont Technical College
- Liz Medina, Vermont AFL-CIO
- Jim Dumont, Esq.
- Richard Donnelly, VGS
- Jake Marin, VEIC
Note: Network Action Team projects were selected by the Network membership through a competitive process at the EAN annual summit. Although Network members may support specific policy actions as part of their work on these Action Teams, EAN staff serve in the role of neutral convener and refrain from advocating for specific policies.
