Planetary Solutions in Clean Energy Summer Fellow Spotlight: Emily Khym, HEET
The Yale Center for Business and the Environment's Planetary Solutions in Clean Energy Fellowship matches 11 undergraduate and graduate students with non-profit, startup, and governmental organizations committed to energy equity and the deployment of clean energy. The program provides summer research and internship opportunities to students at Yale who are committed to advancing energy equity and pursuing a career in the clean energy field.
The Forum had the pleasure of speaking with Emily Khym ’27.5, a Political Science major pursuing a certificate in Energy Studies. Emily is spending the summer as a Policy Fellow at HEET, a Massachusetts nonprofit working to advance thermal energy networks and accelerate the clean energy transition.
Last summer, Emily Khym ’27.5 was researching building efficiency and code reform when she kept coming across the same technology: thermal energy networks. At first, she didn't think much of it. It was simply another technology to learn about. As she spent more time reading, though, she realized it addressed one of the biggest challenges in the clean energy transition. Thermal energy networks have the potential to reduce emissions, lower energy costs, and help decarbonize buildings, a sector that remains difficult to electrify.
A year later, that curiosity has brought her to HEET, a Massachusetts nonprofit that has become a national leader in advancing thermal energy networks and helping launch some of the country's first utility-scale pilot projects. For Khym, the path to HEET began long before this summer. A political science major pursuing an Energy Studies certificate, she first became interested in energy after taking a Yale summer course on green energy systems. She enjoyed learning about the technologies themselves, but she found herself asking a different question. Why do some promising climate solutions gain traction while others struggle to get off the ground?
That curiosity eventually led her toward energy policy and building decarbonization work. Last summer, she interned with the Virginia Conservation Network, where she focused on building efficiency and code reform. During that internship, she got her first formal introduction to thermal energy networks. What immediately stood out to her was that the technology seemed to address more than one problem at once. "It's not only about reducing emissions," Khym said. "It's also going to reduce people's energy bills." That combination of environmental and economic benefits made the technology especially compelling. And when she learned more about HEET's work in Massachusetts, she knew she wanted to be involved.
Khym was struck by how much influence such a small team has had. HEET works across science, policy, and community engagement, helping utilities and policymakers think about how thermal energy networks can be deployed on a larger scale. "They're such a small organization, but they do so much," she said. This summer, Khym is serving as a policy fellow and supporting the organization's policy team. Much of her work has involved attending meetings, sitting in on presentations, and following the regulatory and legislative efforts that make these projects possible.
The experience has also given her a chance to see policymaking from a perspective that looks very different from the classroom. As a political science major, Khym has spent years learning about institutions, legislation, and bureaucracy. But watching those processes unfold in real time has been eye-opening. "You learn about these systems in theory," she said. "Then you actually see how much relationship-building and communication goes into making things happen."
One thing that has surprised her most is how collaborative the energy world really is. Before this summer, she understood that partnerships were important. What she did not fully appreciate was how much progress depends on relationships between nonprofits, utilities, regulators, local governments, and community organizations. That realization has come up repeatedly throughout the fellowship. Through weekly lunches and meetings with other Planetary Solutions fellows, Khym has met students working on entirely different parts of the clean energy transition. Those conversations have introduced her to organizations and ideas she might never have encountered otherwise. Sometimes she leaves those meetings thinking about potential collaborations or connections that could benefit HEET's work. Other times, she simply appreciates the opportunity to learn from people approaching similar challenges from different angles. "The more people you have who are passionate about the same mission, the better," she said.
The collaborative nature of the work extends to HEET itself. Every Tuesday, Khym travels to Boston to work in person with members of the team. Because the organization is small, she has had the opportunity to work closely with colleagues and gain a better understanding of the many moving pieces involved in developing and implementing energy projects. Some of her favorite moments have happened outside of formal meetings. She enjoys walking around Boston with her supervisor and having conversations that continue well beyond the agenda of the day. Those moments have helped her understand not only the technical and policy dimensions of the work, but also the people behind it.
The summer has also changed how she thinks about a future career in energy. Before arriving at HEET, she imagined policy work primarily through the lens of legislation and government institutions. Now, she sees the energy sector as a much larger network of people and organizations all trying to move toward similar goals. That perspective has already begun shaping the work she hopes to continue at Yale.
As president of the Renewable Future Alliance, Khym has spent the past year raising awareness about geothermal energy and thinking about what future thermal energy projects could look like in New Haven. This summer has given her a clearer picture of what it takes to move an idea from concept to implementation. One project she has been following closely is the thermal energy network planned for New Haven’s Union Station area. Supported by a $9.5 million federal grant, the project aims to provide clean heating and cooling to Union Station and nearby mixed-income housing planned for the former Church Street South site. City leaders hope it can become a model for neighborhood-scale thermal energy systems across Connecticut and help identify other areas of New Haven where district heating and cooling could work.
For Khym, the project feels especially tangible because Union Station is a place she uses regularly. “It’s amazing that a train station I go to all the time is going to be powered by thermal energy networks,” she said. She hopes the project is only the beginning. In the future, she would like to see more work identifying parts of New Haven where similar systems could be developed. Even if additional pilot projects take time, she believes that helping more people understand the technology and its potential is an important first step. Thermal energy projects are also beginning to take shape closer to home, with Yale developing geothermal infrastructure on campus as part of its broader effort to transition away from fossil-fuel-based heating systems.
What began as a question about why some climate solutions succeed while others struggle has become a firsthand lesson in how change happens through technology, policy, and the people willing to build support for both. Now, Khym is watching that process unfold in the city where she has spent the past few years learning, working, and building support for clean energy solutions.