Vicinity Energy

Vicinity Energy provides district steam, chilled water and carbon-free steam to commercial properties and campuses, including its operations in Boston and Cambridge. Steam and chilled water travel from central facilities through underground pipes to connected buildings, where they are used for heating, cooling, sterilization and humidification. Customers range from hospitals and life science labs to universities, hotels, residential buildings and industrial operations that need dependable thermal energy.

Reliability is central to the pitch, especially for hospitals, where the company cites the need for 99.99 percent reliable energy. The company is also moving its Boston-area operations toward carbon-free eSteam, made with renewable electricity. A 42-megawatt electric boiler is already running at the Kendall facility in Cambridge, and a river-source heat pump complex is under construction there. Electrification plans have also begun in other cities, including Grand Rapids, Michigan.

What to Know

• The company operates 19 district energy systems in 12 cities nationwide.
• Thermal storage allows eSteam to be made from stored off-peak renewable electricity.
• Emerson College is one of its customers using carbon-free thermal energy.
• Vicinity Energy is listed by the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce.