Industry: Government
Vicinity Energy Executive Chairman Bill DiCroce on Boston Public Radio
Boston Public Radio in conversation with Vicinity Energy’s Bill DiCroce
On the WGBH Boston Public Radio show, Vicinity Energy’s Executive Chairman Bill DiCroce joined the President of the Alliance for Climate Transition Joe Curtatone on the radio to discuss how Vicinity is combating the climate crisis by electrifying our district energy systems, and why more businesses need to take action now.
About Boston Public Radio
Hosts Jim Braude and Margery Eagan facilitate smart local conversation with leaders and thinkers shaping Boston and New England. Listen to the full episode here.
The Boston Globe Climate Club Explores: Climate Innovation
Vicinity Energy’s CEO Kevin Hagerty took part in an Energy Innovations panel, hosted by The Boston Globe and presented by the Museum of Science. The panel explored the past, present, and future of energy innovations, including what has shaped the current landscape and the groundbreaking advancements that are driving us toward a sustainable future. Climate reporter Sabrina Shankman moderated the dynamic conversation between Kevin and the Executive Director of HEETlabs, Audrey Schulman, and the Chief Technology Officer of Innovation at Schneider Electric, Scott Harden.
Charging ahead: Vicinity’s decarbonization pathway through electrification
Mitigating carbon in the U.S.’s production and distribution of energy is now just as critically important as society’s ever-growing need for energy. The federal government, states, and local municipalities are implementing, drafting, and debating new laws, regulations, and programs to swiftly push the clean energy transition and decarbonization.
Commercial buildings represent the highest source of carbon emissions in major cities, making them one of the most critical targets in urban decarbonization. New York City’s Local Law 97 was the first to set restrictions around carbon emissions on existing and new buildings—with Boston following close behind with Building Emissions Reduction and Disclosure Ordinance (BERDO) 2.0. As communities strive to lessen the impacts of climate change and building owners look to comply with these evolving mandates, it’s clear that resilient, reliable, and agile energy solutions are needed for a more sustainable future.
The first district energy electrification strategy in the U.S.
One of the most valuable assets in achieving aggressive decarbonization targets is district energy, a network of underground pipes that delivers thermal energy and chilled water to buildings in urban communities. Because district energy systems are agile, flexible, and agnostic to fuel sources, they are essential tools to decarbonize communities at scale. As clean energy technology evolves and more renewable sources become available, Vicinity is quickly adapting to emerging trends to eliminate carbon from operations at central facilities in 12 cities across the country.
In 2020, Vicinity pledged to achieve net zero carbon emissions across its operations by 2050. As Vicinity delivers steam for heating, cooling, and sterilization to customers ranging from state-of-the-art life sciences research facilities to Class A commercial office space, the company remains committed to providing reliable and affordable products to help customers eliminate carbon emissions.
How Vicinity is getting there
The backbone of Vicinity’s decarbonization plan is the electrification of its operations by utilizing a combination of existing infrastructure and implementing new, innovative technologies at Vicinity’s central facilities.
Like district energy systems in Canada and Europe, Vicinity will import carbon-free electrons through co-located substations to power electric boilers and industrial-scale heat pumps. These technologies with thermal storage will deliver safe, clean, and reliable carbon-free steam, known as eSteamTM, for heating, cooling, sterilization, humidification, and other thermal energy needs.
While the technologies will vary at each of Vicinity’s central thermal energy facilities, below is a quick snapshot of the overall electrification strategy:
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- Biogenic fuel: A truly circular solution, Vicinity uses the waste cooking oil discarded by the local food service industry to generate steam. Vicinity has replaced heating oil with LR100, a biogenic fuel derived from waste vegetable oil. Benefits include significantly reducing greenhouse gas emissions by over 80% compared to distillate fuel and improving local air quality by reducing nitrogen oxides, sulfur oxides, and particulate emissions.
- Heat pumps: Vicinity is partnering with a Germany-based energy provider to develop a low-temperature water-source heat pump system for carbon-free eSteamTM generation. These plans are already in motion as Vicinity looks ahead to 2028 when the Kendall facility in Cambridge will be home to Massachusetts’s largest planned industrial-scale heat pump complex. Installation at other locations in Philadelphia and Kansas City will follow.
- Electric boilers: Leveraging existing infrastructure and access to a lower-cost, transmission-level electrical supply, Vicinity will consume renewable power from the grid and import it to its facility through the co-located substation to produce carbon-free eSteamTM.
- Thermal storage: To lower our customers’ average cost of renewable thermal energy, thermal storage will provide on-demand eSteamTM production from stored, off-peak renewable electricity.
What this means for Vicinity’s district energy customers and communities
Vicinity’s decarbonization journey enables buildings to transition to clean energy sources at scale and seamlessly achieve carbon reductions without any additional capital needed. As federal, state, and city officials enact building performance standards to reduce existing and new buildings’ carbon footprint, Vicinity continues to invest in infrastructure at central facilities. It enables customers to comply with these evolving standards. Vicinity’s eSteamTM sets customers on a rapid pathway to decarbonize by 2050 and achieve their ambitious ESG initiatives. With eSteamTM, Vicinity’s valued customers, like IQHQ, can provide resilient and responsible spaces to positively impact their building occupants and the surrounding community.
Sustainability spotlight: a conversation between Vicinity Energy and Ballard Spahr
Sustainability spotlight: a conversation between Vicinity Energy and Ballard Spahr
In this episode of Ballard Spahr’s Sustainability Spotlight series, Vicinity Energy’s Chief Sustainability Officer Matt O’Malley and Vice President of Government Affairs Jeannie Morris discuss how Vicinity is combating the climate crisis with carbon-free eSteam™ and why more businesses need to take action now. Brendan K. Collins, a partner in Ballard Spahr’s Philadelphia Office and leader of the firm’s Manufacturing and Consumer Products Industry Group, hosts the discussion.
About Ballard Spahr LLP
Ballard Spahr LLP, an Am Law 100 law firm with more than 600 lawyers in 15 U.S. offices, serves clients across industry sectors in litigation, transactions, and regulatory compliance. The firm’s Sustainability Spotlight podcast highlights the sustainability efforts that businesses are making to combat climate change and other environmental challenges.
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Summer readiness checklist
As temperatures rise, it’s time to ensure HVAC systems are geared up for the summer heat to optimize building systems’ performance, conserve energy, and keep occupants comfortable and safe during heat waves, hurricanes, tornados, tropical cyclones, floods, or other extreme weather events.
Whether buildings use district chilled water or operate onsite chillers and cooling towers, regularly reviewing and implementing this guide ensures proactive building readiness for summer temperatures, helps maximize equipment lifespan, and improves overall energy efficiency.
Print out this summer preparedness checklist and review it every spring to prepare staff and equipment for the coming warm temperatures. Please note that the steps will vary depending on the equipment present onsite.
Contact your account manager to explore partnering with Vicinity’s operations and maintenance experts to assist with summer readiness, equipment upgrades, or preventative maintenance programs.
Vicinity leverages best practices at its central facilities to provide a smooth transition into the summer season. These protocols ensure safe, reliable, and consistent operation to prevent service disruptions for customers who leverage chilled water or steam for cooling purposes. Vicinity’s interconnected energy facilities offer 99.99% uptime energy delivery with resiliency through redundant power and fuel sources.
Vicinity’s summer preparedness includes extensive cooling tower and chiller inspection and cleaning at Vicinity’s central facilities that produce chilled water, including basin cleaning, sterilization to prevent bacteria growth, and oil inspections on gearboxes and fan belts. Vicinity also performs eddy current testing to detect leaks on chiller tubes and inspects refrigerant and oil samples. Mid-season, Vicinity performs additional maintenance to ensure smooth operation of the central facilities before scorching weather conditions, hurricanes, tornadoes, tropical cyclones, floods, or other extreme summer weather events. Each day, Vicinity monitors atmospheric pressure, humidity, and temperature to anticipate and meet customer buildings’ energy demands, and confirms redundancies are in place to minimize any disruptions to steam or chilled water service.
By taking these proactive steps, Vicinity delivers reliable customer service year-round and reduces the maintenance needed onsite at customers’ buildings.
