Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources Funds Geothermal Heat Pump and Energy Efficiency Projects in Public Universities and Facilities

In July 2026, Massachusetts announced nine awardees for $23 million in funding through the Department of Energy Resource's Leading by Example (LBE) Decarbonization Implementation Grant Program (DIG). This funding will help replace aging HVAC systems with geothermal heat pumps and support energy efficiency retrofits in existing public universities and publicly owned buildings. Each grantee can use the funds to cover up to 45 percent of project construction costs, defraying upfront system costs and enabling expanded project scopes to more quickly meet emissions reduction targets. The grantees include five public universities and two state department facilities undertaking the following projects:

• A 5-megawatt industrial heat pump at UMass Amherst, using waste heat from a neighboring power plant to produce low-temperature steam for campus heating and cooling;
• Three electric heat chillers at UMass Boston, to replace central power plant natural gas boilers;
• Adding a building to the campus-level geothermal system at UMass Dartmouth to take advantage of its excess heating and cooling capacity;
• Comprehensive insulation improvements, new rooftop solar installations, and replacing electric resistance and natural gas heating with high efficiency and all-electric systems at three buildings managed by the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation; and
• Early phases of large-scale geothermal projects at the Massachusetts Maritime Academy and Salem State University.

All together, these projects are expected to reduce annual greenhouse gas emissions by 21,000 metric tons and protect against rising energy costs with more efficient heating and cooling systems.