Lynn — City Council unanimously approved a budget of $7.8 million originally allocated to Pickering Middle School’s geothermal heating system to be repurposed for unrestricted use for the construction of the new building, due to an unexpected change in site conditions.
The original plan to invest in an environmentally-friendly geothermal heating system for Pickering Middle School was decided in September 2024. However, in April, members of the Pickering Middle School Building Committee revealed that engineers had discovered unstable soil conditions, known as soil liquefaction, at the construction site.
This meant that the team needed to change their approach to ground improvements and the foundation of the new school due to increased apprehension regarding the structural stability of the existing building. Ultimately, they chose to switch to air-sourced heat pumps for the HVAC system.
“The conclusion that a geothermal heating system was not the best fit was the decision of dozens of members on the project, and ultimately the City. We were fortunate to find out when we did, so we could adjust the situation to ensure that this will be a very successful building for a very long time. We want to make sure that we’re really addressing the problem and taking it seriously so that we make sure this building goes up the right way,” Mayor Jared C. Nicholson said.
Air sourced heat pumps were deemed to be the most effective alternative option because installation is generally quicker and does not involve digging into the soil, unlike geothermal heating systems. Maneuvering around the unfavorable soil conditions in order to keep the geothermal heating system would have not only increased costs, but would have also added time to the project.
Along with this, air sourced heat pumps are also deemed environmentally friendly because they “extract heat from the air outside and distribute it,” according to Mass Save. Air-sourced heat pumps meet the requirements for Path 1 classification by Mass Save, making them potentially qualified for tax rebates.
Last year, the $7.8 million initially allocated to install the geothermal heating system was expected to be returned to the city due to Mass Save and the U.S. Inflation Reduction Act, which was passed in 2022 by the Biden administration. However, the future of these rebates are currently unknown due to different environmental priorities under the Trump administration, calling for a more time-efficient heating system installation process.
“Geothermal is a very promising technology that has had success in the field. It is very green and cost effective for projects in the long-term. But for that to be the case right now, that relied on tax rebates implemented by the Biden administration. Fortunately, those tax rebates are still in place and still available, but I think we can recognize that’s always a risk,” Nicholson said.
