Global climate progress
2022 was a year for groundbreaking climate legislation and productive talks around the world in efforts to curb the negative effects of climate change.
In August, the U.S. Senate reached a groundbreaking $369 billion climate agreement, The Inflation Reduction Act. The Act is a milestone victory for the green sector, with a record-shattering investment in emissions-free energy production. It promises to cut carbon emissions by 40% nationwide and massively overhaul how Americans get their electricity, heating, and cooling.
The Inflation Reduction Act incentivizes developers to build new emissions-free electricity sources, such as geothermal heating, wind turbines, and solar panels, by offering billions of dollars in tax credits over ten years. Overall, the legislation is exciting as it stands to rapidly speed up the U.S.’s transition away from fossil fuels and bring us closer to the emissions targets set in the Paris Climate Accord.
In December, the Biden Administration also announced the first-ever Federal Building Performance Standard (BPS), which aims to cut energy use and electrify equipment and appliances in 30% of Federally owned building space by 2030.
This announcement paves the way for Federal buildings to adopt cleaner, more energy-efficient technologies. This transition to green energy is critical to achieving President Biden’s net-zero emissions goal across all Federal buildings by 2045.
In November, COP27 was held in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, and a slew of promising conversations came out of the discussions between global leaders.
‘Greenwashing’ was a key topic of conversation at this year’s COP27 talks. The UN released a report taking aim at “greenwashing” and calling for private companies and city governments that have made net-zero pledges to publicly report on their progress with verified information. As more and more organizations pledge their carbon reductions goals, global leaders are calling for accountability and transparency in the steps they are taking to meet these goals.
Our Clean Energy Future progress
This year, Vicinity has taken some critical steps in our Clean Energy Future Commitment to reach net zero carbon emissions across all our operations by 2050 or sooner.
In April, we launched eSteam™, an innovative carbon-free product designed to rapidly decarbonize the highest source of emissions in major cities: commercial buildings.
We are offering renewable thermal energy to our customers by installing electric boilers, industrial-scale heat pumps, and thermal storage at our central facilities starting in Boston and Cambridge, with our other districts to follow.
Our first electric asset will enter service in late 2024, when we will procure electricity from renewable, carbon-free energy sources such as wind, solar, and hydro to generate eSteam™.
IQHQ will be Vicinity’s first customer to power the rapid decarbonization of its buildings in Boston with carbon-free eSteam™.
In November, we officially kicked off our electrification plans with the deconstruction of a steam turbine at the Kendall Green Energy Cogeneration Facility. We will install an electric boiler in its place that will enter service in 2024 and help our customers in Boston and Cambridge decarbonize their buildings.
Boston Mayor Michelle Wu helped commemorate the day at our Kendall facility. “It is clear that the work of ensuring our planet remains livable is going to require all of us: every level of government, business, and community,” Mayor Wu noted at the event. “We’re very grateful that Vicinity’s carbon-free eSteam™ product will power the leading industries we’re already known for here in Greater Boston such as life sciences, healthcare, commercial real estate, and many more.”
While our electrification plans have taken shape this year, we’ve also continued to serve our customers with the most sustainable energy possible and repurpose existing equipment at our facilities.
We’ve continued to utilize biogenic fuels to power our operations in Boston, Cambridge, and Philadelphia. LR100 is a unique biogenic fuel derived from waste cooking oil and fats discarded by the local food service industry.
This fuel has helped us reduce our reliance on fossil fuels and allows us to generate lower-carbon steam in the very same communities from which it came. The use of biogenic fuels in our Philadelphia facility has helped reduce Vicinity cut carbon emissions by 12,200 tons, or the equivalent of removing 2,650 cars from Philadelphia’s roads each year.
To store this biogenic fuel and provide our Boston and Cambridge customers with low-carbon steam, our Kendall Cogeneration Facility has repurposed an old natural gas boiler to store the biogenic fuel.
Our Environmental Health & Safety teams around the country were also hard at work this year to better communities and lead green projects at our facilities.
Some of this work includes:
- Lighting & water audits
- PV array planning
- Planting trees
- Electric vehicles
- Groundwater injection
- Fire safety and review
- Refillable water stations
- Recycling initiatives, including recycling around 200 lbs. of Keurig cups with TerraCycle
- Supporting environmental legislation at the local, state, and federal levels
Women at Vicinity Energy (W@VE)
This year, Vicinity proudly rolled out “W@VE”, our new women’s network dedicated to fostering career development and leadership opportunities for women at Vicinity.
Some of the objectives established for the program include constructing a supportive community of women, attracting talent for career advancement and leadership opportunities, building a network of advocates and mentors to improve diversity and inclusion within the organization, and providing mentoring and access to senior leadership.
Our co-directors Jaklyn Cross and Medina Jones kickstarted this program back in October and have since led some empowering discussions regarding the two books we have read this year, “Own the Room” by Amy Jen Su and Muriel Maigan and “You are a Badass” by Jen Sincero. We look forward to more opportunities to cultivate the talent of women in our community as they continue to embrace their individuality and strive towards achieving their full potential.
Awards we received
In 2022, we were honored to receive several awards by industry organizations, local communities, and administrations. We are grateful for the teams, partners, and communities that made this year so monumental.
For the second year in a row, Vicinity has been voted the “Best Alternative Energy Company in Philadelphia” by the local community in Metro Philadelphia’s 2022 Philly’s Best awards.
The annual “Philly’s Best” list from Metro Philadelphia recognizes the best businesses in the city, awarding one winner per category. Recipients are nominated by the Philadelphia community and are selected by vote. In 2021, Vicinity also received this award by the community.
Community initiatives
Throughout 2022, our teams across regions have prioritized giving back to their local communities. Vicinity values these hands-on community engagement opportunities to increase our understanding of the communities we serve and to build long-lasting relationships with local organizations who share our passion for public service and supporting those in need.
Events and tours
This year, our teams welcomed professional groups, legislators, and community members for tours at our facilities across the country, where they got an inside look into how our green steam is created. Our team members also spoke at various events to discuss our clean energy future plan, renewable energy sources, and the steps we’re taking to green the communities we serve.
Vicinity in the media
In 2022, Vicinity was featured in several media publications. Check out some of the great news stories and interviews that were published this year:
Over the course of the year, our team members worked tirelessly towards supplying new and innovative energy technologies, with the overarching goal of driving carbon reductions within the communities we serve.
We could not be more grateful for this dedicated team that puts in the work to create a cleaner and greener environment for generations to come. 2023 is already off to a great start for the energy community and we cannot wait to see what the future holds.