Geothermal Project Starts in Sheridan Hollow

Albany Mayor Kathy Sheehan and the Albany Community Land Trust held a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Thursday, September 4 on Orange Street for geothermal drilling underway at two properties in the Sheridan Hollow neighborhood. These boreholes will enable highly efficient geothermal energy to be used to heat and cool 3 residential units and a commercial business. This pilot program, spearheaded by NYSERDA and Aztech Geothermal, will hopefully lead to a district geothermal system that will provide heating and cooling to up to 100 homes in the neighborhood that for more than a century has been polluted by the state’s Sheridan Avenue Steam Plant used to power the Capitol and Empire State Plaza Complex. We hear from Sue Cottner of the Land Trust; Mayor Kathy Sheehan; Geoff Hoffer of Aztech; Albany County Legislator Mert Simpson; and, Christine Hoffer of NY Geo. By Mark Dunlea for Hudson Mohawk Magazine.