In 2022, Rev. Nathan Ives learned that the power bill for his church in Salem, Massachusetts, was jumping from $100 a month to $3,000.
The utility provider, National Grid, had adjusted a possibly faulty meter, and Ives found himself stretched thin as he tried to keep the 19th-century space warm and lit. He knew he had to act and saw an opportunity to direct the St. Peter's-San Pedro Episcopal Church toward cheaper and cleaner energy sources than its current gas system, Inside Climate News reported.
Thus, the "Heaven and Earth" project was born. Led by Ives and clean energy consulting partners, it proposes using solar panels and a community-wide geothermal project — hence the name — to reshape not just the church's power supply, but much of downtown Salem's as well.
The solar and battery storage part of the plan could lower the congregation's electric bill to nearly $0 and protect it from power outages during extreme weather. Yet the geothermal stage could turn things around even more.
This kind of energy taps deep into the earth's crust, where temperatures are consistent all year long. Geothermal systems drill down to this level to harness energy for cost-effective heating during the winters up above, as well as cooling during warmer months.
The Salem effort would involve building a mile-and-a-quarter loop of geothermal infrastructure in the downtown area. The church and 20 other buildings — including public housing, shops, and city buildings — would all become connected in a mutually beneficial network. Heat pumps would also supplement the system, according to Inside Climate News.
The full details are covered in a 328-page study of the project's feasibility, published by geothermal energy firm Achieve Renewable Energy and engineering group B2Q Associates.
The ball is clearly rolling for Ives and other stakeholders, but the main obstacle facing them now is that geothermal projects are not cheap to build. An initial estimate for the Salem project is $56 million. However, the scope of the construction could be much less in reality, multiple experts told Inside Climate News.
Plus, as the outlet explained, the church is already hard at work raising money. It won a $50,000 grant from the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center in 2024, bringing its total fundraising to $250,000. Larger government grants and clean energy tax credits for geothermal projects could significantly close the gap further.
While the upfront costs are high, geothermal systems pay off once they are up and running. Plus, they are a great replacement for cities looking to ditch their dirty energy sources and clean up their environmental impact. Salem itself has a goal to slash its energy pollution by 2050, per Inside Climate News.
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"We have to do something quickly, or as quickly as we can," Ives told the outlet.
On the residential side, companies such as EnergySage can help homeowners compare free quotes from installers for both solar and air-source heat pumps. Inflation Reduction Act credits now expire at the end of the year, and solar projects can take 12 weeks to complete, so act now if interested in following the same footsteps.
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