Massachusetts
Climate solution: Massachusetts town experiments with community heating and cooling
Jennifer and Eric Mauchan live in a Cape Cod-style house in Framingham, Massachusetts that they’ve been cooling with five air conditioners. In the summer, the electric bill for the 2,600-square-foot home can be $200.
In the winter, heating with natural gas is often more than $300 a month, even with the temperature set at 65 degrees Fahrenheit (18 degrees Celsius).
“My mom, when she was alive, wouldn’t come to our house in the wintertime,” because it was too cold, Eric Mauchan said.
But beginning Tuesday, their neighborhood will be part of a pilot climate solution that connects 37 homes and businesses with a highly-efficient, underground heating and cooling system. Even taking into account that several of the buildings will be switching from natural gas to electricity, people are expected to see their electric bills drop by 20% on average. It’s a model some experts say can be scaled up and replicated elsewhere.
“As soon as they told me about it, I bought in 100%,” said Jennifer Mauchan, who works in finance, remembering her first meeting with representatives from Eversource, the gas and electric utility that installed the system. “From a financial perspective, I thought that it was a very viable option for us.” She cited lower greenhouse gases that cause climate change as an important factor in the decision.
Gina Richard, owner of Corner Cabinet, a kitchen and bath cabinet showroom in Framingham, said she felt “pretty lucky” to be part of the project. She currently uses two air conditioners and two heaters and looks forward to replacing all that with a single system. Richard said she was told she could see her winter heating bill of $900-1,000 go down by as much as a third, which she said would be “amazing.”
The Framingham system consists of a giant underground loop filled with water and antifreeze, similar to the way gas is delivered to several houses in a neighborhood. Water in the loop absorbs heat from underground, which remains at about 55 degrees Fahrenheit (13 degrees Celsius) all year.
Households have their own heat pump units that provide heating and air conditioning, installed by the utility. These take heat from the loop, spike the temperature further, and release that heat as warm air into the homes. For air conditioning, heat is extracted from the home or business and released into the Earth or transported to the next home.
The energy sharing works best when some buildings are drawing on heat while another needs it, the way a grocery store needs to keep its cases refrigerated even in winter.
Other networked geothermal projects exist in the U.S., including the Texas community of Whisper Valley and Carleton College in Northfield, Minnesota. Eversource says this is the first utility-led installation in the U.S. If it works, that could be important because an individual homeowner could not do the digging and drilling necessary to create a neighborhood system.
Right now, homeowners can buy individual air source heat pumps, which have become common and are efficient. Or they can drill for more expensive, even more efficient ground source heat pumps. Incentives, such as those in the Inflation Reduction Act or local utilities, help lower the price on these, yet the final cost can still be tens of thousands of dollars.
Framingham beat out other communities that applied to Eversource to become pilot sites. The city 20 minutes west of Boston is surrounded by Harvard University and Massachusetts Institute of Technology, plus firms like Thermo Fisher Scientific, Pfizer and Novartis. Eric Mauchan said the proximity of so much advanced technology and a state law requiring that greenhouse gas emissions ramp down to zero by 2050 helped make the community receptive.
Nikki Bruno, vice president for clean technologies for Eversource, also cited the state’s emissions law as a reason for the pilot. It was also “an opportunity from a decarbonization standpoint,” she said, because Eversource has its own net zero goal.
“We’re thinking about, okay, we do this pilot now, how can we scale this into a sustainable business model, into a sustainable program to offer in more locations?” she said.
Jack DiEnna, founder of the Geothermal National & International Initiative, an alliance of industry professionals, said utilities are seeing pressure to address climate change plus incentives to do so. Ground source heat pumps are highly efficient, reduce the electricity demand on the grid and can be installed in regions beyond the reach of gas lines. They also cool homes and release very little in the way of climate pollution compared to traditional heaters and air conditioners.
There is also an equity issue that concerns some in the climate and energy sector. If people who have the means disconnect their natural gas, it could have unequal consequences for people.
It “means that the people who can least afford it are stuck paying for this gas system, this very leaky gas system,” said Ania Camargo, thermal energy networks manager at the Building Decarbonization Coalition, a nonprofit working to eliminate fossil fuels from buildings.
“One of the reasons why I advocate for utilities to be a big part of the solution is because it’s a way to make sure we can do this for everybody.”
Back at the Mauchans’ home, the couple laughs about the accommodations they were making to their old heating system. “I was so mindful of the expense that we would incur if we increased the temperature to, God forbid, 70 degrees in the winter,” Jennifer recalled about letting the house get cold in winter.
They expect their new heat pump to change things. “I mean, we’ll keep our house 71 degrees all year long,” Eric said.
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Several Cape Cod and South Coast communities in Massachusetts are still digging out three days after a historic blizzard buried neighborhoods in several feet of snow, complicating emergency response efforts and prompting additional state support.
Cities and towns including Brockton, Taunton, New Bedford and Fall River received outside assistance Thursday as crews continued to plow streets and clear critical infrastructure. While road conditions have improved in many areas, officials said buried fire hydrants remain a serious concern.
NBC10 Boston obtained Taunton police body camera footage that captured first responders scrambling to locate a hydrant during a house fire on Plain Street.
“Looking for a hydrant now,” one first responder can be heard saying. “They’re all buried.”
At one point, an officer asked a bystanders for help.
A home was burned to the ground after an explosion that left two people injured.
Officials said the home exploded after a gas leak Wednesday, leaving a family of three displaced.
The mother and daughter were treated for serious burns.
William Shivers, who helped firefighters dig out a hydrant, described the urgency.
“We took the shovels, and we were just banging into the snow, looking for a fire hydrant,” he said.
After locating a hydrant using a map on his phone, Shivers and firefighters were able to clear it, but he said the delay could have been worse.
Two people are in the hospital and neighbors are worried about safety after an explosion and fire reduced a house to rubble.
“Imagine how many more how many more minutes that would have been wasted, you know, shoveling, just going through the snow,” said Shivers.
The case underscores the broader challenges facing first responders across the region following Monday’s storm.
Firefighters in Watertown also experienced delays accessing hydrants during a fire on Tuesday.
Snow and ice presented challenges as firefighters battled flames Tuesday.
Gov. Maura Healey toured parts of the South Coast on Thursday and said the region was hit especially hard.
“This whole region, I think, was ground zero,” she said.
Healey said the state will continue deploying resources to affected communities.
“We won’t take our foot off the gas at all,” she said.
The governor activated the Massachusetts National Guard. Troops assisted with snow removal in Plymouth, conducted wellness checks in Duxbury and provided medical and logistical support in Fall River.
Matt Medeiros of Fall River was praised by the governor and other officials for developing an app that allows residents to report unplowed streets.
“It’s just hoping to get those resources in and everyone just staying out of the way of trucks and equipment,” he said.
Meanwhile, Mansfield implemented a parking ban at 8 p.m. Thursday to allow plows to clear roads more efficiently.
Matthew Lawlor of WalkUp Roslindale, a nonprofit advocating for clean and safe streets, emphasized that residents also play a role in public safety.
“The fire hydrant piece of it’s essential,” he noted.
Lawlor urged neighbors to clear hydrants near their homes before an emergency strikes, while also calling on elected officials to provide some incentives.
“To the extent that people can be encouraged to dig those hydrants out as soon as they can, so that it’s not waiting until something happens,” he said.
State officials said the blizzard slowed plowing operations, contributing to the lag in sending additional help to some communities. The Massachusetts Department of Transportation said it hopes to deploy its 200 pieces of equipment to impacted areas within the next 24 to 48 hours.
Massachusetts
Healey announces deal for free online AI training from Google for Mass. residents – The Boston Globe
Massachusetts residents will be able to take Google’s online training courses about artificial intelligence and other tech topics for free under a deal that the state announced on Thursday.
The courses, which cover topics ranging from how to use cutting-edge AI tools for work to applications in cybersecurity and e-commerce, normally cost $49 per month. Residents who complete the courses can earn professional certifications from the tech giant.
Governor Maura Healey, who unveiled the free offering at an event at Google’s office in Kendall Square, is going all-in on AI as she mounts her reelection campaign. At a time when polls show deep mistrust of AI and some Democrats such as Senator Bernie Sanders are calling for restricting AI, Healey has embraced the technology.
“We’re working to put the benefits of this technology to use for everybody,” Healey said. “We want our innovators and companies and talent to know that this is the place to be if you want to be on board with using AI to more quickly cure diseases and find treatments and solve problems.”
Healey previously set aside $100 million to spur AI business development in Massachusetts and earlier this month announced the state would contract with OpenAI to provide a version of ChatGPT for 40,000 state workers.
The government efforts got a big assist in January, when a group of local tech companies led by Whoop formed a private-sector coalition to promote AI startups. AI usage has exploded across many industries and stock market investors have driven up the price of some AI-related companies while selling off stocks of software companies that could be displaced by AI apps.
Google launched its online tech training courses almost 10 years ago and said it has issued professional certifications to more than one million people. Almost three-quarters of people who were certified said the courses helped them at work by leading to a promotion, new job, or raise, within six months, Google said.
The company’s new AI certification online course, announced earlier this month, covers topics such as learning how to write a prompt for an AI chatbot and how to use the apps to write software, a growing practice known as “vibe coding,” as it does not require deep knowledge of programming.
Lisa Gevelber, founder of the tech giant’s Grow with Google online training program, said the company has worked previously with other states such as Pennsylvania and Oklahoma to offer free tech training courses, but Massachusetts will be the first to offer the new AI course to residents for free.
The online training programs for residents will be available through the Massachusetts AI Hub, an initiative funded by Healey’s earlier $100 million AI effort.
Despite Healey’s recent efforts and the state’s long history as a leader in the tech industry, most of the development of AI and the birth of leading AI companies such as OpenAI, Anthropic, and Perplexity has happened elsewhere. While local universities are producing plenty of AI research, only a handful of major startups, such as music generator Suno and model developer Liquid AI, are based in Massachusetts.
In her remarks on Thursday, Healey addressed some of the underlying concerns about the technology. “People are nervous about AI and the uses of AI and the potentially negative uses of AI, and what could happen,” she said. “The more of us that know AI, that understand AI, that work with AI, the safer I believe we’re going to be, and the more appropriate guardrails will be put in place, because more people will understand. And that’s why we’re promoting AI literacy and learning in our schools, and it’s why we’re making this available through Google.”
Aaron Pressman can be reached at aaron.pressman@globe.com. Follow him @ampressman.
Massachusetts
Seven high school sports takeaways from the first full day of hockey and basketball tournaments – The Boston Globe
Find all of Wednesday’s playoff action here:
Not seeing your team’s highlights in Takeaways? Here are all the ways to submit scores and stats to Globe Schools via phone, email, and social media.
▪ With a 16-point night in a 51-41 Division 3 preliminary-round win over Auburn, Hudson senior Kristina Bruce became the school’s all-time scoring leader, surpassing Jake Loewen’s total of 1,278, set in 2013. Bruce finished the game with 1,283.
▪ Bishop Feehan girls’ hockey junior Georgia Murray is now the program’s all-time points leader with 115 after netting two goals and an assist in a 3-0 Division 1 first-round win over Hopktinton/Dover-Sherborn. In the same game, senior Aviva Olitsky surpassed 1,500 career saves.
▪ Holliston/Ashland senior Oli Lareau notched an assist in a 2-1 Division 3 preliminary-round win over Nashoba Tech/Greater Lowell to reach 100 career points. It marked the Panthers’ first playoff win in 11 years.
▪ Pope Francis senior captain Matt Regan reached 100 career points with a hat trick in a 5-1 Division 1 first-round win over Belmont.
▪ Milton senior Sabrina Stone logged a goal and an assist to get to 100 career points in an 8-1 first-round win over Ashland/Medway.
Just two days into the basketball and hockey tournaments, no fewer than seven higher-seeded teams have fallen, not counting matchups that are withing one seed of each other.
The highest seed to falter thus far is No. 10 Methuen boys’ hockey, which was sent home by No. 23 Groton-Dunstable, 5-4, as Crusaders goalie Cam Columbus made 50 saves and Mac Kahwati notched the power-play winner with 3:30 remaining.
Also stumbling out of the game was No. 12 Westfield boys’ hockey, which fell, 4-1, to No. 21 Danvers and Cooper Dunham, who factored in all four goals, scoring three of them. The highest seed eliminated on the girls’ side is No. 13 Arlington Catholic, which suffered a 2-1 defeat to No. 20 Acton-Boxborough in the first round.
The rest: No. 42 Hudson boys’ basketball, 57-56, over No. 23 Chelsea; No. 36 Norwood boys’ basketball, 60-55, over No. 29 Agawam, and No. 34 Lowell Catholic boys’ basketball, 65-53, over No. 31 Saugus.
With less than a second on the clock, Shrewsbury’s Paige O’Donnell delivered the equalizer and Margaret Moody came through in overtime for a 3-2 Division 1 girls’ hockey win over Belmont.
Some honorable mentions: Cole MacKinnon’s overtime winner delivers Lynnfield boys’ hockey a 2-1 win over Blackstone Valley; Easthampton boys’ hockey wins 2-1 over Dedham after both teams were assessed penalties in overtime, leading to three-on-three play; Nico Santella’s double-overtime goal allowed No. 8 St. John’s (Shrewsbury) to survive an upset bid from No. 25 Acton-Boxborough, 2-1; Pauly Scaltrito netted the overtime winner for Bridgewater-Raynham in a 4-3 triumph over North Andover.
Noah Bayersdorfer, Winthrop — The senior racked up 30 points and snagged six rebounds in an 81-51 preliminary-round win over Smith Vo-Tech.
Jason Drake, Medway — The senior captain connected for four goals to propel Medway to a 7-5 first-round triumph over McCann Tech.
Jackson Dunton, Blackstone-Millville — The junior erupted for 33 points to push the Chargers past Mystic Valley, 78-70, in a preliminary-round game.
Kara Gambale, Billerica/Chelmsford — The junior notched an assist on all five of the Lindians’ goals in a 5-1 victory vs. Brookline.
Adrianna Girard, Blackstone-Millville — Bound for the the Marine Corps, the senior flirted with a quadruple-double with 10 points, 7 rebounds, 10 steals, and 8 blocks in a 49-21 preliminary-round win over Lynn Tech.
Grant Neal, Lynnfield — The junior dominated the paint with 21 points and 15 rebounds in a 57-47 preliminary-round victory over Ludlow.
Matt Pedroli, Hopkinton — The sophomore factored into all five goals during a 5-4 first-round win over Gloucester, producing a hat trick and two assists.
Shawn Tierney and Timmy Murphy, Billerica — The seniors both produced 5 points, with Tierney scoring three times and dishing two assists, and Murphy doing the opposite in an 8-1 first-round destruction of Amesbury/Whittier.
David Stein announced he is stepping down after two seasons as boys’ basketball coach at Whittier Tech. Whittier went 7-33 over his two seasons.
“Excited for what is next for me,” he wrote on social media.
6. Basketball leaderboard
(includes Tuesday’s games)
Liam MacPhee, Stoneham, 37
Jackson Dunton, Blackstone-Millville, 33
Noah Bayersdorfer, Winthrop, 30
Niles Scott, Methuen, 28
Julia Walsh, Dedham, 28
Ashley Cohen, Bedford, 24
Shauna O’Brien, Pingree, 23
Delvis Rodriguez, Lowell Catholic, 23
Meredith Gibbs, Dover-Sherborn, 22
Andrew Karaban, Hudson, 22
Jimmy Mortarelli, Natick, 22
Grant Neal, Lynnfield, 21
Mike Dever, Norwood, 20
Allyson Johnson, Blue Hills, 20
Sofia Pichay, Ursuline, 20
Grant Neal, Lynnfield, 15
Ben Clarkin, Lincoln-Sudbury, 13
Tony Dean, Stoneham, 12
Evie Roman, Pingree, 12
Niles Scott, Methuen, 12
Sarah Michel, Blue Hills, 11
Lizzy Bettencourt, Peabody, 10
Sophia Coburn, Peabody, 10
Prudence Kouhiko, Lawrence, 10
Jonathan Perez, Lawrence, 6
Collin Christiansen, Lowell, 5
Alex Echevarria, St. Mark’s, 5
Sara Graves, Pingree, 5
Sarah Michel, Blue Hills, 4
Adrianna Girard, Blackstone-Millville, 10
McKenna Devanney, Central Catholic, 7
Alinsa Ryan, Peabody, 5
Ben Clarkin, Lincoln-Sudbury, 4
CJ Farrell, St. Mark’s, 3
Allyson Johnson, Blue Hills, 3
Shauna O’Brien, Pingree, 3
Adrianna Girard, Blackstone-Millville, 8
Prudence Kouhiko, Lawrence, 3
(includes Tuesday’s games)
Jonah Rainisch, Berkshire, 5
Jason Drake, Medway, 4
Mia Amato, Billerica/Chelmsford, 3
Cooper Dunham, Danvers, 3
Jack Funk, Thayer, 3
Cam McKenna, Hingham, 3
Matt Pedroli, Hopkinton, 3
Matt Regan, Pope Francis, 3
Shawn Tierney, Billerica, 3
Charlotte Woodford, HPNA, 3
Lindsay Butt, Milton, 2
Jared Capella, Groton-Dunstable, 2
Nate Carter, Nashoba, 2
Stephen Constantine, Arlington Catholic, 2
Payton Curran, Reading, 2
Ella Duffy, Methuen/Tewksbury, 2
Payton Fitzgerald, Billerica/Chelmsford, 2
Jake Guerriero, Archbishop Williams, 2
Mia Kmiec, HPNA, 2
Dylan Krasco, Stoneham, 2
Bryce Leonard, Stoneham, 2
Paul McCullough, Scituate, 2
Timmy Murphy, Billerica, 2
Georgia Murray, Bishop Feehan, 2
Derek Perault, Wilmington, 2
Cam Petrillo, Arlington, 2
Charlie Puglisi, Winchendon, 2
Cam Rouillard, Nashoba, 2
Nico Santella, St. John’s (Shrewsbury), 2
Pauly Scaltrito, Bridgewater-Raynham, 2
Brody Sharpe, Milton Academy, 2
Cameron Smith, Billerica, 2
Becca Sobol, Shawsheen/Bedford/Lowell, 2
Aiden St. Pierre, St. Mary’s, 2
Avery Tapp, Woburn, 2
Brandon Ward, St. John’s Prep, 2
Chase Warsofsky, Cushing, 2
Kara Gambale, Billerica/Chelmsford, 5
Jake Cataldo, Billerica, 3
Cosmo Ciccarello, Stoneham, 3
Bryce Leonard, Stoneham, 3
Timmy Murphy, Billerica, 3
Payton Fitzgerald, Billerica/Chelmsford, 2
Chris Giacchetto, Stoneham, 2
Dante Guarino, Stoneham, 2
Jake Guerriero, Archbishop Williams, 2
Evan Jones, Belmont Hill, 2
Mia Kmiec, HPNA, 2
Colby Medeiros, Danvers, 2
Emrick O’Brien, Wilmington, 2
Matt Pedroli, Hopkinton, 2
Andrew Pugliese, Stoneham, 2
Lily Rodgers, Reading, 2
Sammy Ryan, Methuen/Tewksbury, 2
Shawn Tierney, Billerica, 2
Juliana Iozza, Westwood, 52
Cam Columbus, Groton-Dunstable, 50
Gavin Durand, Blue Hills, 39
Carson Brownridge, Arlington, 38
Michael Marenghi, Lynnfield, 29
Sam Griswold, Concord-Carlisle, 26
Liam Gagne, Billerica, 23
Rylee Middleton, Reading, 22
Hayden Tyrell, King Philip, 20
Conor Foley, Wellesley, 18
Brendan Kurie can be reached at brendan.kurie@globe.com. Follow him on X @BrendanKurie.
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