Beneath the streets of Trenton, Vicinity Energy’s robust underground district energy network of piping distributes 99.99% reliable hot water, steam and chilled water to many of the city’s — and New Jersey’s — most critical buildings, including the Governor’s Office and the State Justice Complex. District energy is an innovative and resilient energy solution that involves the production of thermal energy at a central plant, eliminating the need to install or manage onsite boilers and chillers. District energy also offers our customers a green energy alternative. By combining its underground network with the latest energy efficient technology, Vicinity is minimizing environmental impacts, while providing businesses, the citizens of Trenton, and our state with energy resiliency, reliability, and cost savings.
Vicinity in Trenton
Vicinity tackles global energy problems on a local level, with local resources — distributing reliable chilled water, steam and hot water to some of Trenton’s premier institutions and businesses, including hospitals, biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies, colleges, hotel and entertainment venues, commercial and residential space, and government facilities. With one combined heat and power (CHP) facility and multiple chilled-water facilities, the Trenton district system supplies more than 12 million square feet of space with reliable heating and cooling, hot and chilled water, sterilization, and humidification.
Sustainable Green Steam for a Cleaner Future
Green steam refers to our low carbon thermal product, which in large part comes from a CHP process and the integration of renewable energy. By combining the production of thermal energy (used for both heating and cooling) and electricity into one process, CHP results in the most efficient use of fuel to generate electricity and condition buildings, using far less fuel than when heat and power are produced separately. CHP is also extremely resilient, providing uninterrupted thermal energy and power in the event of a grid failure. Through the state of New Jersey’s ‘Town Center Distributed Energy Resource Microgrid Feasibility Study Incentive Program’ (TCDER), Vicinity was awarded one of 11 grants to design a new CHP plant that will repower Trenton’s central heating and cooling facility, reduce the city’s carbon footprint and provide a reliable, resilient and sustainable microgrid solution for the city of Trenton. And we’re not stopping there: Vicinity recently launched our Clean Energy Future — a formalized commitment, vision and roadmap to achieve net zero carbon by 2050.
District Energy Benefits in Trenton
In addition to improving Trenton’s critical energy infrastructure and reducing its carbon footprint, with district energy, individual buildings don’t require onsite equipment — freeing up space for building amenities, eliminating the risk of onsite combustion, and reducing upfront capital and ongoing operations and maintenance (O&M) costs. Further, you get the peace of mind that comes with Vicinity’s 99.99% reliable energy delivery. Our interconnected central energy facilities have built-in redundancy, back-up generation and multiple water and fuel sources. So regardless of what’s going on in Trenton, you can rely on district energy to help keep you up and running.