In 2016, a meeting inside Eversource’s Massachusetts headquarters could have gone very differently.
On one side sat William Akley, then president of gas operations. On the other sat members of Mothers Out Front — a grassroots climate group calling attention to methane leaks from aging gas pipelines.
What could have remained a standoff became something else.
When the meeting began, climate advocate Zeyneb Magavi spoke plainly: she had three children, she said, and she was worried about climate change and their future.
After a pause, Mr. Akley responded that he also had three children — and shared those same concerns.
That moment shifted the tone in the room. It was, as Ms. Magavi later described it, a “little sliver of common ground” that they began to grow.
That sliver eventually grew into one of the most closely watched geothermal pilot projects in the United States.
A Neighborhood Powered by the Earth
Today in Framingham, Massachusetts — about 25 miles west of Boston — Eversource has buried a mile-long underground loop and drilled 90 boreholes hundreds of feet deep.
The system is designed to heat and cool 36 buildings — homes, businesses, and even a fire station — using the steady temperature of the earth.
It is the first U.S. trial of this innovative technology being provided to an entire neighborhood by a major utility.
Instead of delivering natural gas, the utility is delivering thermal energy.
In winter, buildings draw warmth from the ground. In summer, excess heat is returned below the surface. The earth functions as a seasonal battery — stable, renewable, and efficient.
For a company long rooted in gas distribution, this represents more than a pilot project. It signals a shift in how utilities might approach decarbonizing buildings.
A “Game Changer” for Gas Utilities?
When Ms. Magavi later proposed that a utility could deliver geothermal energy at neighborhood scale, she warned Mr. Akley he might need to “take a deep breath.”
Instead of backing away, he leaned in. He later described the concept as potentially a “huge game changer” — if it could be made affordable.
That comment reflects the broader crossroads facing gas utilities nationwide.
Many operate infrastructure that will need to evolve as states adopt net-zero climate mandates. Roughly a third of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions come from buildings, making heating and cooling central to any serious decarbonization strategy.
Geothermal networks offer a possible bridge.
Utilities already understand underground construction, long-term capital planning, and customer service models. The question is whether those capabilities can be redirected toward clean thermal energy systems rather than fossil fuel delivery.
More Than Engineering
The Framingham pilot is notable not just for its technology, but for its collaboration.
Activists who once protested gas pipelines eventually toured job sites with utility crews. Coalitions formed. Regulators approved a pilot in what officials describe as an environmental justice community, aiming to understand whether geothermal networks can serve a broad range of customers while spreading infrastructure costs over time.
Residents in the neighborhood have embraced the experiment. For some, it feels like participating in a once-in-a-generation infrastructure shift.
For Mr. Akley, who retired shortly after the underground loop was completed, the project ranked among the highlights of his 40-year career. He described it as a proud moment — and one that brought optimism for the future.
A Broader Shift
The Framingham project is not happening in isolation.
Utilities in multiple states are studying or launching geothermal demonstrations. National coalitions are exploring thermal energy networks. Policymakers are examining how these systems might help meet climate goals while maintaining reliability and affordability.
Geothermal is no longer confined to campuses or niche demonstration sites.
It is entering mainstream utility planning conversations.
What began with community concern over methane leaks has evolved into a broader question about infrastructure itself:
Instead of simply replacing aging gas pipes with new gas pipes, could those underground rights-of-way deliver clean thermal energy instead?
It’s an ambitious shift.
But as this story shows, the energy transition doesn’t always begin with confrontation. Sometimes it begins with shared concern — and a willingness to reach across the table.
Read the full article at The Chsitian Science Monitor, “How a gas company and environmentalist united on a first-of-its-kind geothermal project”