Boston – Vicinity Energy, the nation’s largest district energy provider, announced its plan to reach net zero carbon emissions for all of its operations by 2050.
Vicinity Energy provides heat, hot water, cooling, chilled water, sterilization and humidification to over 230 million sq. ft. (nearly eight square miles) of customer facilities in major cities across the United States.
For more than 50 years, Vicinity has adapted and innovated to deploy cleaner energy technologies and strategies as they’ve become available, helping to reduce the carbon impact in cities like Cambridge, Boston, Philadelphia, Baltimore, and Kansas City. In this next phase of its long-term energy vision, the company will continue to introduce renewables into its fuel supply mix and integrate large- and small-scale combined heat and power (CHP) resources to increase the efficiency of its district energy systems.
By building on this foundation to achieve net zero carbon emissions, Vicinity is clearly focused on a greener, cleaner, more sustainable future. Key strategies in the plan include:
- Utilizing biofuels as an alternative to fossil fuels
- Electrifying generation to further reduce carbon emissions as the grid gets greener
- Investing in efficiency projects and district infrastructure
- Engineering microgrid and distributed energy solutions that leverage biofuel-capable CHP systems to improve resiliency
- Purchasing renewable electricity for Vicinity plants and auxiliary assets
- Exploring other innovative technologies, such as renewable natural gas, battery storage, hydrogen, CO2-based dispatch, and more.
By formalizing its commitment, the company will continue to provide 99.99% reliable, resilient services with a lower carbon footprint at highly competitive prices in relation to other energy alternatives.
“Our goal is to preserve the environment for future generations and ensure that energy remains affordable to our customers so they can continue to put their dollars toward mission-critical core operations. As clean energy technologies continue to evolve, our team is dedicated to leading the transition to a net zero carbon future by innovating, adapting quickly to renewable strategies, and developing opportunities to green our system,” said Bill DiCroce, Vicinity president and CEO. “Together with our employees and strong local partners, we will reach this goal by 2050 so that our communities can thrive in a much greener future.”
Currently, Vicinity eliminates more than 500,000 tons of CO2 annually from its operations, the equivalent of taking 110,000 cars off the road. Its new Clean Energy Future is intended to reduce an additional 1.7 million tons of carbon across the 12 major cities where it operates, which means reducing emissions by an additional 55,000 tons every year to reach net carbon zero by 2050.
The immediate next step in the plan includes incorporating biofuels in select district energy facilities, starting this winter.
