Boston Archives | Page 2 of 9

Emerson College and Vicinity Energy Forge Groundbreaking eSteam™ Partnership to Revolutionize Campus Sustainability

Posted on June 25, 2024August 2, 2024 by Vicinity Energy

Boston, MA, June 26, 2024—Vicinity Energy, a national decarbonization leader with an extensive portfolio of district energy systems across the United States, announced a long-term renewal of its partnership with Emerson College, a leading higher education institution. This partnership establishes a new benchmark for campus sustainability, with Emerson becoming the first college to convert 100% of their heating operations by implementing Vicinity’s carbon-free thermal energy solution, eSteam™. This initiative advances Emerson’s pursuit of its carbon neutrality objectives in Boston, MA.

Located in the heart of Boston’s Theater District, Emerson College sets the standard for sustainability in higher education. The college’s expansive 1.5 million-square-foot campus will use Vicinity’s carbon-free eSteam™ for all its heating and hot water requirements, making Emerson’s thermal operations carbon-neutral.

“This project marks a pivotal moment in Emerson College’s journey towards environmental responsibility and sustainability,” said Emerson President Jay M. Bernhardt.

Regularly ranked among the top 50 Green Colleges in the U.S., Emerson College has earned Gold status in the AASHE Sustainability Tracking, Assessment & Rating System, which measures the sustainability performance of colleges and universities.

“We are thrilled to embark on this transformative journey with Emerson College. With innovative technologies and solutions like eSteam™, we can offer a replicable model for higher education institutions to rapidly decarbonize. Together, we are leading by example, demonstrating the positive impacts of sustainable energy solutions on our communities and the environment,” said Kevin Hagerty, CEO and president of Vicinity Energy.

“This partnership sets a new standard for sustainability within urban higher education institutions, and we are proud to lead by example, demonstrating that significant, sustainable change is possible and necessary for the future,” said Jennifer Lamy, associate director of sustainability at Emerson.

This partnership further reinforces Emerson’s commitment to achieving carbon neutrality by 2030, building upon its reputation as a sustainability leader. The transition to eSteam™ is a significant stride toward this ambitious goal and will drive the entire Emerson campus toward carbon neutrality.

About Vicinity Energy

Vicinity Energy is a clean energy company that owns and operates an extensive portfolio of district energy systems across the United States. Vicinity produces and distributes reliable, clean steam, hot water, and chilled water to 250 million square feet of building space nationwide. Vicinity continuously invests in its infrastructure and the latest technologies to accelerate the decarbonization of commercial and institutional buildings in city centers. Vicinity is committed to achieving net zero carbon across its portfolio by 2050. To learn more, visit vicinityenergy.us or follow us on LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram, or Facebook.

Media Contact

Vicinity Energy
Sara DeMille
Marketing and Communications
857-955-5073
sara.demille@vicinityenergy.us

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Summer readiness checklist

Posted on April 16, 2024September 4, 2024 by Vicinity Energy

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.

eSteam™: a cost-effective, carbon-free renewable thermal energy solution to decarbonize your commercial building

Posted on April 10, 2024October 31, 2024 by Vicinity Energy

Commercial buildings represent the highest source of carbon emissions in major cities, making them one of the most important targets in urban decarbonization. eSteam™ is a unique solution that can address this challenge head-on and inexpensively decarbonize healthcare, life sciences, universities and commercial buildings with ease.

Accelerate decarbonization with eSteam™

Vicinity’s renewable thermal energy product will help you accelerate the decarbonization of your building and our communities. Our solution is turn-key.

eSteam™ reduces the need for you to invest in new onsite energy infrastructure to meet your sustainability goals. By connecting to the district energy system, you eliminate the need to make significant investments to decarbonize your building’s thermal energy load—we’re doing that for you. Vicinity will leverage and build upon existing infrastructure, including our existing network of steam pipes, electric substations, and transmission lines, and deploy the capital needed to rapidly reduce our carbon emissions.

For our cities, Vicinity’s eSteam™ provides a way to cleanly heat and cool urban buildings—reducing the need for natural gas boilers that create unregulated gas stacks and unmonitored carbon emissions—improving overall air quality in neighborhoods.

eSteam™ is the first renewable, carbon-free thermal energy product in the United States, offering maximum flexibility and superior environmental benefits.

eSteam™ benefits:

Carbon-free – eSteam™ is carbon-free, so you can meet your sustainability goals and avoid looming carbon taxes.
Total flexibility – You nominate how much eSteam™ you want annually and select the renewable electricity source to generate your eSteam™ based on your budget and sustainability objectives.
Affordability – eSteam™ is the most cost-effective, affordable option to green your building compared to alternatives, like electric boilers in your building. Vicinity’s access to transmission level rates gives district energy an economic advantage over onsite equipment.
Avoid carbon fees and fines – Many cities in the U.S. have implemented or are considering laws that will lower greenhouse gas emissions in buildings. Oftentimes, these policies will carry hefty fines for non-compliance. eSteam™ is carbon- free, giving you peace of mind that your building will be green, without costing you more green.
Maximum reliability and resiliency – Join the many customers who choose Vicinity’s district energy heating and cooling products for maximum reliability and resiliency.
Low capital investments – To access the benefits of eSteam™, you don’t need to invest in costly capital projects and you can avoid expensive building retrofits. Decarbonize your thermal energy footprint by simply connecting to Vicinity’s district energy network.
Certifications – Gain potential points for LEED® and ENERGY STAR® certifications to demonstrate your buildings’ commitment to sustainability.

Customers benefit from carbon-free eSteam™ generated with renewable electricity.

How eSteam™ works

By installing electric boilers at our central facilities and procuring renewable power from the grid, we can offer carbon-free steam to meet your buildings’ thermal energy needs. Vicinity can purchase renewable power on your behalf—such as wind, solar and hydro—at transmission level rates, allowing us to keep your costs down.

Coupled with other technologies like industrial-scale heat pumps and thermal storage, our goal is to offer you the most affordable, flexible thermal energy product that lowers carbon footprints, improves air quality and meets sustainability goals.

Vicinity’s eSteam™ is the first renewable, carbon-free thermal energy product in the United States, offering you maximum flexibility and superior environmental benefits.

Lock in with eSteam™ today to decarbonize your buildings and avoid looming carbon fees. To learn more about eSteam™ email our energy experts at info@vicinityenergy.us.

Pumps & Systems podcast: Heat pumps & decarbonization

Posted on April 10, 2024June 25, 2024 by Vicinity Energy

In this episode of the Pumps & Systems podcast, Bill DiCroce, President and Chief Executive Officer of Vicinity Energy discussed the role heat pumps can play in decarbonization, as well as the efforts cities like Boston are currently making to strive for sustainability and an eventual goal of net zero carbon emissions.

Recommended preventative maintenance

Posted on April 10, 2024July 18, 2024 by Vicinity Energy

Vicinity’s comprehensive maintenance services are offered year-round—during peak usage or before system turn-ons—to optimize steam efficiency, reliability, and cost savings.

Improve the operating performance of steam systems by taking preventive steps to avoid energy losses. Customers who have leveraged Vicinity’s preventive maintenance program have experienced the following benefits:

Conserved energy and reduced energy costs by improving system performance and eliminating inefficiencies.
Improved reliability by identifying problem areas that could cause unscheduled system outages.
Optimized capital expenditure and operating expenses by maximizing system efficiency and strategically planning for infrastructure investments with an identified budget for equipment repair or replacement.
Improved operating procedures by reviewing, refining, and documenting preventative maintenance best practices.

We partner with each of our customers to customize recurring service agreements for the summer and winter seasons, tailoring the maintenance services below to their specific needs. Reach out to your Account Manager today to understand the preventative maintenance services offered in your district.

Steam traps

Service description: Survey building, locate, identify, tag, and test steam trap performance.
Maintenance value: Ensure steam traps function correctly and prevent issues that can lead to energy waste, equipment damage, and safety hazards.

Pressure Regulating Valves (PRVs)

Service description: Identify valves’ make, model, size, and serial number. Test pilot valve for leaks, clean orifices, check diaphragm plates, test the gauging, and set to desired system pressure.
Maintenance value: Prevent system over-pressurization and relief valves from releasing steam into the atmosphere. Failed PRVs may improperly cycle open and close, both oversupplying and then starving the downstream equipment of steam.

Strainers

Service description: Inspect screens and clean out debris, evaluate source of debris, and troubleshoot. Ensure blow-down valves are functioning properly to flush trapped material.
Maintenance value: Reduce rust and pipe scale damage to valves and pumps. Ensure heat transfer surfaces are kept free of efficiency reducing deposits.

Heat exchangers

Service description: Perform water chemistry testing, determine if leaks exist, measure tube thickness, repair or plug tubes as needed, and perform preventative maintenance, such as hydrolasing or cleaning as needed.
Maintenance value: Recover efficiency losses, optimize operation of the exchangers, and reduce energy consumption.

Steam pipe

Service description: Inspect steam piping. Check for leaking joints, watermarks on insulation, and corrosion.
Maintenance value: Deliver safe and reliable steam into the building while reducing potential for steam emissions into the building.

Condensate return line

Service description: Inspect for leaks and corrosion. Check condensate pump seals for leaks. Check vent pipes for vapor emissions.
Maintenance value: Avoid condensate water spills, ensure proper evacuation of condensate from system lines, and identify the presence of leaking steam traps in the system.

Mechanical room hot water loop

Service description: Inspect all piping, inlet/outlet temperatures, and pressures on heat exchangers and mechanical pumps.
Maintenance value: Confirm adequate operation of key energy transfer equipment, such as heat exchangers, which supply building heat, hot water, or other process loads.

Seasonal and maintenance shutdowns/turn-ons

Service description: Manage closure and opening of Vicinity’s main service valve for seasonal system curtailment or start of use. Shutdowns require draining of systems while turn-ons require both draining of systems and operating pressure checks.
Maintenance value: Ensure safe and confined operation of Vicinity’s main service valve for shutdowns/turn-ons related to seasonal changes and maintenance activities. Reduce radiant energy losses, condensate accumulation in system piping, and mechanical room air space temperature. Prevent pipes from rotting and prepare systems to be dormant for an extended period by draining the systems for shutdowns.

Emergency winter weather preparedness checklist

Posted on April 10, 2024July 18, 2024 by Vicinity Energy

Melt away the challenges of winter weather. Prevent costly equipment damage and disruptions to daily operations by proactively preparing for winter weather conditions.

To enhance preparedness, we encourage you to utilize our emergency winter weather preparedness checklist. Regularly reviewing and implementing this guide ensures proactive building readiness for winter conditions. It safeguards against potential freeze-ups in steam and sprinkler systems, mitigates the risk of roof collapses due to heavy snowfall, and protects against potential flooding during extremely cold temperatures. These risks present safety concerns and entail substantial financial and time investments in repairs, with the possible consequence of building shutdowns.

Print out this emergency winter weather preparedness checklist and review it every winter to prepare staff and equipment.

Vicinity has rigorous cold weather protocols to ensure safe, reliable, and consistent operation of its facilities to prevent service disruptions. Our interconnected energy facilities offer 99.99% uptime energy delivery through multiple power supplies, backup generation, and several water and fuel sources in case of interruptions to other utilities.

Vicinity’s winter weather protocol includes:

A comprehensive cold weather plan that entails pre-season preparation, pre-storm planning, weekly winter weather readiness checks, and post-season assessment.
Identification, monitoring, and prioritization of components, systems, and other areas of vulnerability at our facilities which may experience freezing problems, pose safety risks, prevent the delivery of fuel or water, or result in other cold weather operational issues.
Validation that critical equipment is operational through function testing.
Implementing ongoing walk-downs throughout the season to ensure heat tracing is functional, sufficient pipe insulation is in place, and opportunities for continuous improvement are identified.
Strict compliance with North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) – Emergency Operations (EOP).
Annual training with specific checklists related to freeze protection panel alarms, troubleshooting and repair of freeze protection circuitry, identification of facility areas susceptible to winter conditions, review of special inspections or rounds implemented during severe weather, and fuel switching procedures.