Photo: Chaiel Schaffel/WBZ NewsRadio
SALEM, Mass. (WBZ NewsRadio) — Energy costs in New England are among the highest in the nation.
Residents and businesses alike are looking at ways to save money.
And so are churches.
The iconic St. Peter's-San Pedro Episcopal Church building in Salem, Mass., was built in 1833.
It's heated by a gas steam system with a monthly bill in the thousands.
Rev. Nathan Ives, the leader of the church, said a few years back, the congregation was paying a hundred dollars a month for heat.
But after the utility company required the church's gas meter to be replaced, their gas bill rocketed to a point that Ives said is unaffordable. "The bill went from a hundred dollars a month to three thousand dollars a month, overnight," Ives said.
So now, the church leadership is working with city officials to look into a neighborhood-wide geothermal system that would involve digging a series of underground wells, stretching around Church and St. Peter's Street, and the large public parking lot nearby.
Ives added that the project's estimated cost is about $30-40 million dollars and would be funded by a combination of grant money and private donations.
The network's thermal wells would be installed under roads and parking lots, which would be usable as before after installation.
Energy from the geothermal network would be used to heat and cool a portion of the neighborhood.
A solar micro-grid is also under consideration.
Ives also said that the timing of the construction would be critical so as not to interfere with the city's top tourism period around Halloween. "Timing is everything in Salem," he said. "You can't disrupt the fall; there's just no possible way."
The proposed project is still in the planning phase, and the church is looking for public input.
WBZ NewsRadio's Chaiel Schaffel (@CSchaffelWBZ) reports.