The US Department of Energy (DOE) has announced that 11 communities in 10 states have been chosen to create designs for community geothermal heating and cooling systems. The implementation of geothermal energy for heating and cooling can assist American cities in meeting their energy requirements, reducing costs, generating employment, and decreasing greenhouse gas emissions.
Although community-scale geothermal systems are commonly used outside of the US, their presence domestically is comparably small. These selections are part of a $13M initiative to aid the development and deployment of community geothermal heating and cooling systems.
The increased use of these systems across the country will aid in the accomplishment of President Biden’s target of a net-zero economy by 2050. The projects are part of President Biden’s Justice40 initiative, which aims to ensure that 40% of the overall advantages of specific federal investments go to marginalized, underserved, and pollution-burdened disadvantaged communities, according to WAM.
“Supporting the design and deployment of geothermal heating and cooling will expand the uses of clean energy in decarbonizing our communities,” said U.S. Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm.
The US Department of Energy’s initiative to support community geothermal heating and cooling systems offers the potential for wider adoption of these systems, which can significantly contribute to decarbonizing the building and electricity sectors.
Community geothermal systems make use of underground distribution networks to provide heating and cooling to multiple residences and businesses using geothermal heat pumps and direct use of geothermal hot water. By providing low-carbon heating and cooling, these systems help reduce greenhouse gas emissions, while also supporting the decarbonization of the electricity sector.
The selected projects cover a range of system sizes, technologies, and geographies and will be executed by community coalitions with expertise in community needs, workforce, design and analysis, and deployment. The case studies of these projects will offer diverse examples for other communities to implement community geothermal systems.
