“The Boston City Council on Wednesday approved an ordinance requiring buildings larger than 20,000 square feet to cut emissions completely by 2050.‘Energy efficiency is always the greenest, cheapest renewable energy, and Boston’s aging large buildings are the Saudi Arabia of wasted energy for us to tap,’ Audrey Schulman, president of Cambridge-based Home Energy Efficiency Team (HEET), told The Globe.”

“National Grid (NYSE: NGG) has agreed to cut the monthly cost of its geothermal heat pump demonstration project by over half from its original proposal for low-income participants and stretch the project payment out over a longer period.” *Story available with free registration to RTO Insider.*

“Julie Greenberg, a climate and racial justice advocate who works with the interfaith grassroots group POWER, has a vision for Philadelphia’s energy future: GeoMicroDistricts, or a network of underground pipes carrying water, shared by homes in a single block or neighborhood, powered by the region’s abundant geothermal energy.”

“In 2019, the Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities adopted the new classification, and the changes may slash the state’s emissions by approximately 4% in as little as 3 years, said Audrey Schulman, a climate activist with the Boston nonprofit the Home Energy Efficiency Team (HEET) and member of the Gas Leaks Allies.”

“Several activists expressed support for replacing gas service with geothermal microdistricts, which would connect clusters of homes and businesses to a common geothermal heat source, built and managed by PGW.”

“Legislation enacted in 2014 requires gas companies to report gas-leak information annually to the state. Through those disclosures, HEET has been analyzing, geocoding and mapping National Grid’s information, making the raw data more accessible.”