Eversource Launches Underground Substation Construction
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New England-based Eversource has broken ground on a $1.5 billion project to build new transmission capacity as well as an underground substation in the City of Cambridge. The project, called the Greater Cambridge Energy Program (GCEP), will improve the utility’s ability to integrate renewable energy sources, and will boost capacity to ensure the utility can meet the expected increase in future demand from electrification.
Snapshot of the Eversource Underground Substation
Eversource decided to build the substation underground after its initial plan to build a more traditional, above-ground substation was terminated following pushback from Cambridge residents. This pushback prompted the City of Cambridge to request an alternative option, and after careful consideration the utility opted to go the underground route.
The planned underground substation will be 35,000 square feet and will be situated 105 feet below the surface. While not the first, it’s set to become the largest underground substation in the U.S. (the first one was constructed by Anaheim Public Utilities in 2006).
In addition to the substation, the utility is also:
- Building 8 new 115 kV underground transmission lines spanning 8.3 miles through portions of Cambridge, Somerville, and Boston.
- Upgrading 5 substations to become “clean energy hubs” in Cambridge, Somerville, and Allston/Brighton.
- Developing 48 new distribution lines.
The project will require 500 workers and is expected to partially go online in 2029, and to be fully online by 2031. It is expected to be able to replace 50% of the city’s commercial-sector gas demand with electricity as well as electrify all of Cambridge’s residential heating.
Needless to say, I absolutely love this concept! As more and more infrastructure gets buried, reliability increases because it is better protected from the elements. And reliability goes hand in hand with emergency preparedness. The bottom line is, whether we’re talking about undergrounding power lines, or constructing an underground substation as Eversource is doing, the benefits are crystal clear.
