Learning from Geothermal Energy Networks
Isabel Varela of HEET (Home Energy Efficiency Team) presents the LeGUp research project, part of MIT's Geothermal Energy Networks course from IAP 2025. She walks through the data and lessons gathered from piloting geothermal energy networks, or GENs, across Massachusetts, covering how neighborhood-scale borehole fields replace individual gas lines with shared ground-source heat pump loops. The talk covers early results from the state's geothermal expansion efforts, including what utilities and regulators have learned about costs, grid impacts, and customer adoption as these networks move from pilot projects toward wider deployment. Varela frames the session around practical findings rather than theory, drawing on real installations to show what works and what needs rethinking in scaling thermal energy networks statewide. It is one session within MIT OpenCourseWare's broader geothermal energy networks course.
