Vicinity Energy is looking to replace the steam turbine at its Kendall Green Energy Cogeneration Facility in Cambridge, Massachusetts, with an electric boiler, in an effort to move closer to its Clean Energy Future commitment.
The company has officially kicked off its electrification plans with the deconstruction of the steam turbine at the cogeneration facility, which produces thermal energy and electricity simultaneously to serve approximately 75% of Vicinity’s customers in Cambridge and Boston. When the electric boilers begin service, all these facilities will have access to carbon-free, renewable energy at once.
When the new electric boiler goes live in 2024, Vicinity Energy will procure electricity from renewable, carbon-free energy sources such as wind, solar, and hydro to generate eSteam – Vicinity’s reportedly carbon-free renewable energy product.
Life sciences real estate development company IQHQ will be the first customer to use Vicinity's carbon-free eSteam to decarbonize its buildings in Boston’s Fenway neighborhood – 109 Brookline and Fenway Center Phase 2.
“With the installation of this electric boiler, we are enabling a seamless conversion to carbon-free eSteamTM for our customers, including innovative commercial building owners and developers like IQHQ,” Bill DiCroce, President and Chief Executive Officer of Vicinity Energy said. “This is game-changing for our communities and a prime example of what happens when government, the business community, and the energy sector work together and embrace the region’s Green New Deal.”
The electrification project at the cogeneration facility aligns with Boston Mayor Michelle Wu’s latest move to file a home rule petition to ban the use of fossil fuels for new buildings in Boston.
“It is remarkable to be able to say that Vicinity is the first energy company in the country to electrify its operations,” Mayor Wu noted. “That is a huge deal and one that will have ramifications for generations to come. For every gigantic natural gas boiler that’s going to be decommissioned, for every new building that will use eSteam, those are jobs created right here for our residents and our communities.”
Vicinity aims to attain zero carbon emissions across all its operations by 2050 and is on track to fully electrify its steam generation in Boston-Cambridge and introduce other technological advancements into its operations, including industrial-scale heat pumps and molten salt thermal energy storage. Other Vicinity Energy locations across the US will undergo similar electrification processes in the coming years.
