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Thermal Energy Networks

Orange & Rockland is currently exploring the possibility of connecting communities throughout or service area to shared thermal resources that provide clean and efficient renewable heating, cooling, and hot water. At this time, we’re developing a thermal energy network pilot project in the Village of Haverstraw.

Buildings are the largest source of greenhouse gas emissions in New York State. Most of these emissions come from onsite combustion of fossil fuels for customers’ basic needs, such as heating, hot water, and cooking. Electric heat pumps, such as ground source and air-source, provide these necessities efficiently and without the local combustion of fossil fuels.

In order to help achieve New York State’s ambitious climate goals set forth by the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act (CLPCA) and our commitment to achieve 100% clean energy by 2040, we are looking to pair ground source heat pumps with thermal energy networks, reimagining our energy system and taking a neighborhood approach.

Bringing Communities Together with Thermal Energy

Near the surface, the earth’s temperature rises and falls with the seasons, but a few hundred feet down, the temperature remains around 55° F year-round. The thermal energy stored in the ground acts like a battery and is a powerful source of renewable energy that we can tap into to heat and cool buildings using heat pumps, rather than fossil fuels.

Thermal energy networks connect buildings through a loop of underground pipes carrying a water-based fluid. The fluid maintains a constant temperature by exchanging heat with the earth through geothermal boreholes, and/or by capturing excess heat from sources like data centers in buildings on the network.

Ground Source Heat Pump Technology

Ground source heat pumps (GSHPs) are the latest in clean energy technology that keep your home comfortable year-round. They’re environmentally friendly, extremely efficient, and affordable to own. Geothermal technology moves energy from the sun that is stored in the earth to provide heating, air conditioning, and hot water. With thousands in rebates available, it’s never been easier — or more affordable — to switch to the most efficient and eco-friendly technology available.

Benefits of Ground Source Heat Pumps


  • Utilizes Electricity more Efficiently: GSHPs concentrate and transfer heat rather than generating it directly, delivering three to five times more heat energy to a building than the electrical energy they consume
  • Efficiency = Operational Savings: High system efficiencies translate into monthly operating cost savings and reduce GHG emissions
  • Dual Purpose System: Single piece of mechanical equipment provides both heating and cooling to a building
  • Water Heating Assist: GSHP systems equipped with 'desuperheaters' can also produce hot water by transferring excess heat from the pump’s compressor to the building’s hot water tank
  • Enhanced Outdoor Aesthetic: Eliminates the need for an outdoor AC unit; enhancing neighborhood appeal and eliminating the constant hum/rattle of AC units in the summer
  • Long Lasting, Proven Technology: GSHPs have been in use since the late 1940s. They have relatively few moving parts and, because the parts are housed indoors, the systems are reliable and have an effective useful life of 25 years (the geothermal ground loops last 50+ years)
  • Quiet: GSHPs are typically quieter than traditional equipment.
  • Higher First Cost: GSHP systems can be three-times more expensive than traditional HVAC systems

Additional Thermal Energy Network Benefits – All the traditional benefits of GSHPs with these added perks


  • Reduces greenhouse gas emissions in the community
  • Improves local air quality
  • Enables greater access to clean energy
  • Creates good-quality jobs in the growing green energy sector

Proposed Project

O&R is implementing a pilot project in response to the mandate in the Utility Thermal Energy Networks and Jobs Act, a statewide effort to reduce building greenhouse gas emissions through utility owned and maintained shared district thermal energy networks.

  • Utility Thermal Energy Network (UTEN) Pilot - Village Haverstraw: Scalable UTEN consisting of two ambient loops in the Village of Haverstraw downtown district. LEARN MORE.