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MTA plans to beat the heat at sweltering subway stations with heat capture technology
Gothamist • • nation
Key Points:
- New York City officials, including Mayor Zohran Mamdani and Gov. Kathy Hochul, announced a plan to explore thermal energy technology aimed at cooling hot subway stations and storing heat for use in nearby buildings during winter.
- The initiative, called the “Thermal Energy Network,” will begin with an $800,000 feasibility study at the Brooklyn Bridge-City Hall and Chambers Street station complex, with design work potentially starting in 2027 if successful.
- The study will investigate using geothermal boreholes beneath the abandoned center platform at Chambers Street to capture and store excess heat generated by subway trains, which can reach temperatures up to 20 degrees hotter than outside air.
- Similar technology is already used in city hospitals and universities to transfer heat between buildings, and the MTA has previously explored geothermal cooling for deep underground stations in Washington Heights.
- Officials emphasized the project as a climate innovation that could improve summer subway conditions for millions of riders while providing winter heating for municipal buildings through city-state collaboration.
