On a cloudless, 90-degree day back in June, around 50 young adults filed into the cool refuge of an auditorium in Framingham. They were there as recruits, eager to hear about a potential new career opportunity: becoming geothermal drillers.
For some, it was a chance at a living-wage career in a growing green industry. Others were intrigued by the science of the technology.
“The idea here is you can use the Earth as a thermal battery,” explained Andrew Iliff, pointing to a PowerPoint slide. Iliff, who works for HEET, a nonprofit promoting clean energy, knows that for Massachusetts to reach its goal of net zero carbon emissions by 2050, it needs to cut out fossil fuels.
Geothermal can help with that by reducing emissions from buildings, which account for 35% of CO2 emissions in Massachusetts.
He was recruiting folks for a two-week intensive tutorial that got underway this week. After the course, students would likely start placements with local drilling companies.
It will be the first program of its kind in Massachusetts, industry leaders say, and it’s sorely needed to jumpstart geothermal-focused education in the state.
Demand for geothermal energy is growing in Massachusetts, thanks to a combination of state funding and federal tax credits. Since the passage of the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act, local geothermal companies told GBH News they are seeing increased demand from homeowners and nonprofits who can now afford the upfront costs. That’s a change from earlier geothermal customers like universities who could afford the initial investments in these systems.
But there’s a problem.
“We must have a dramatic increase in skilled drillers,” said Zeyneb Magavi, executive director of HEET. Industry groups like the International Ground Source Heat Pump Association estimate the U.S. will need over 500 drillers completing 15 million feet of drilling per year.
But if geothermal is used in all buildings where it could work, Massachusetts alone could need about 600 drill teams of two or three drillers per rig to reach 2050 climate goals, Iliff from HEET said. It’s a speculative estimate, but the policy landscape in the Northeast would support that kind of implementation. Vermont passed a bill paving the way for utility companies to enter the geothermal space, and the Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities ruled in 2023 that gas companies must consider non-gas alternatives.
But the reality, said Iliff, is that multiple projects are already bogged down with the high costs of securing enough skilled drillers.
So now, the race is on to find and train this new talent — and that involves developing new training pathways. Eventually, a career track for geothermal drillers in Massachusetts could resemble existing technical college and apprenticeship programs for plumbers and electricians.
Demand is outstripping supply
Framingham, where the young recruits visited, is at the forefront of geothermal growth in Massachusetts. The city collaborated with HEET and the utility Eversource to pilot a geothermal network, which went online this year. Once all buildings are converted with new HVAC systems, a total of 24 residential and five commercial buildings will receive their heating and cooling from geothermal instead of gas.
Instead of laying down its usual gas lines, Eversource installed pipes filled with a water solution that transfers heat between the buildings and the earth. All of the buildings are connected on a mile-long loop with special pipes that burrow 600 feet underground with a total of 88 boreholes. This project tests how Eversource can bring geothermal to its customer base using existing gas infrastructure. If this pilot is successful, Eversource will need lots more drillers for even larger loops.
“I have a perpetual ad out for drillers,” said Tracey Ogden, vice president of drilling operations of Brightcore Energy, which has geothermal projects throughout the Northeast.
Ogden said her company has taken the drastic step of bringing drillers from Alabama and Oklahoma all the way to New England just to meet the demand.
I have a perpetual ad out for drillers.Tracey Ogden, Brightcore Energy
Before working at Brightcore, Ogden worked for a family-owned Massachusetts drilling company that drilled water wells and some geothermal sites. For decades, these mom and pop shops were the training ground for drillers in New England.
“Your mom and dad was a driller. Their daddy was a driller. You’re going to grow up and, probably if you’re a boy, you’re probably going to be a driller,” Ogden said.
Roger Skillings, co-owner of Skillings and Sons drilling company in Amherst, New Hampshire, is one of those sons who took over the family business. His company is set to host one of the students after this month’s two-week course concludes.
Skillings said the nature of the work makes recruiting a challenge.
“It’s cold. It’s dirty. It’s hot. It’s wet. It’s noisy,” he said.
Drillers, he said, need to be tough.
And beyond understanding the mechanics of a drill, they also need to know the local geology. A driller experienced in the shale of Pennsylvania, for example, must adjust how they operate the drill for the hard granite of Massachusetts.
And that knowledge is part of HEET’s argument for growing a Massachusetts-based workforce for the commonwealth.
The new geothermal workforce
Within an hour of the initial presentation, several recruits had already applied to the intensive course. One of those young adults was Yves Pierre, 27, who was impressed by the pay (geothermal drillers make a starting wage of $43 to $53 per hour), and the job security.
“That’s like … setting us up for the next 20 years to have a solid career,” Pierre said.
Pierre and eight other students were accepted into the tutorial, which began Sept. 4.
Drilling instructor Brock Yordy said they’ll begin in the classroom, covering the basics of science, physics, environmental impacts and regulations.
“And then we’re going to get on a rig and we’re going to do it,” said Yordy.
Beyond the rig, a large-scale geothermal transition will require engineers, pipelayers, pipefitters and HVAC technicians. Becoming skilled in all these trades takes time — for drillers, at least three years of training to get a license.
“There will be bottlenecks on the talent,” said Nikki Bruno, Eversource’s vice president of clean technologies, who oversaw the Framingham project.
For that project, Eversource hired seven drilling companies to complete the network.
“So that’s something we’re going to have to continue working on. And I’m excited to see things like the driller training,” she said.
The countdown is on for Massachusetts to meet its 2050 net zero emission goal. In the meantime, companies will almost certainly be hiring — and they’re hoping to tap new talent, many of whom aspire to be part of the world’s transition to cleaner energy.
