wfn.org | Boston's Trinity Church begins renovations with drilling of geothermal wells

[ENS@ecunet.org]

2002-003

Boston's Trinity Church begins renovations with drilling of geothermal wells

by David Trueblood 

     (ENS) A significant building project at Trinity Church in Boston's Copley 
Square, designed to preserve, renovate and expand the church and the parish 
house, kicked off its first phase of construction on January 2 when work began on 
a series of six geothermal wells close to the church's exterior.

     The wells are the heart of a new energy system designed to make it possible 
to renovate and use the church's undercroft--the space below the sanctuary, much 
of which currently remains a basement with a dirt floor.  When completed it will 
provide the church with social space able to accommodate the parish's needs.  The 
system will also support renovations planned for the parish house.

     Trinity Church's plans are in keeping with resolutions adopted in 2000 by 
the Episcopal Church's General Convention and Massachusetts' Diocesan Convention, 
both encouraging the use of environmentally safe and sustainable energy sources.

     Overseeing the work will be Trinity Church's architectural firm, Goody 
Clancy and Associates.  The construction manager contractor is Shawmut Design and 
Construction.  Shawmut, in turn, has contracted with a number of technical 
consultants, including A & W Artesian Wells.

     The geothermal system will include six wells that make use of the constant 
temperature of the earth.  The eight-inch-wide wells will be drilled into 
bedrock, up to 1,500 feet below the surface--twice the height of the nearby John 
Hancock Tower--and filled with water.  That water remains somewhere between 50 
and 55 degrees through the year, and can be circulated to cool a building in the 
summer and help to warm it in the winter.

     The idea of geothermal exchange dates back to 1824.  Geothermal systems were 
first developed in the United States half a century ago, and they have become 
widely popular more recently, in part because they are environmentally friendly. 

     The system uses no fossil fuel, produces no emissions, runs silently and, 
once completed, is invisible.  The water in the well remains at equilibrium, an 
important issue in Boston's Back Bay where many buildings are built on wooden 
pilings that require an unchanging water table.  It requires no cooling tower, 
and can be sized to fit a specific development or building. 

     Geothermal exchange systems today serve a wide range of building types and 
sizes in hundreds of installations.  In aggregate, these systems deliver the 
energy equivalent of three traditional nuclear power generators, according to 
industry experts.

     Although geothermal wells are well established nationally, it is unusual to 
find them in a dense urban setting because of the need for open space in which to 
do the drilling. That makes Trinity Church an ideal site for the project, because 
the open space around the building makes it possible to accommodate the necessary 
equipment.

     Construction of the geothermal wells is expected to last for approximately 
six weeks.  The church will remain open throughout the project with entrances 
from Copley Square as well as from Clarendon Street.

     Because of the depth of the wells, the actual drilling will not be noisy.  
The engines that run the drilling rigs, however, have been described as sounding 
like city buses accelerating.  Those engines will be muffled by wooden structures 
that are being installed to reduce the noise.

     "We are doing this project now when use of Copley Square is at a minimum," 
said Sarah Wilcox, associate for administration.  "One of our goals is to be a 
good neighbor, which is why we are doubling up the drilling to get done as 
quickly as possible."  

--David E. Trueblood is the director of capital campaign communications at 
Trinity Church in Boston and wrote this story for the Episcopal Times, Diocese of 
Massachusetts.