Hidden under the streets, a robust underground network of piping has delivered steam, hot water and chilled water to some of Tulsa’s premier institutions and businesses for over 50 years. Used in space heating and cooling, domestic hot and chilled water, humidification, and sterilization, Vicinity Energy’s district energy system produces and distributes 99.99% reliable thermal energy to over 7.1 million square feet of commercial space in Tulsa, including the BOK arena, One Place Tower and the David L. Moss Criminal Justice Center. District energy is an innovative and resilient energy solution that involves the production of thermal energy from a central plant, eliminating the need to install or manage onsite boilers and chillers.
Vicinity in Tusla
Vicinity tackles global energy problems on a local level, with local resources — distributing reliable energy to some of Tulsa’s premier institutions and businesses, including hospitals and healthcare facilities, biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies, university and college campuses, hotel and entertainment venues, commercial and residential space, and government complexes and civic centers. Vicinity’s system provides reliable district energy to more than 7.1 million square feet of space in the downtown Tulsa area via 3.3 miles of steam and hot water pipes and 3 miles of chilled water pipes.
Sustainable Green Steam for a Cleaner Future
Green steam refers to Vicinity’s low carbon thermal product, which in large part comes from a combined heat and power (CHP) process and the integration of renewable energy. Today in the Tulsa district, CHP technology is maximizing the transformation of fuel into energy and decreasing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by capturing waste heat that would otherwise be lost under conventional means. 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. And we’re not stopping there — Vicinity’s Clean Energy Future is our formalized commitment, vision and roadmap to achieve net zero carbon by 2050.
District Energy Benefits in Tulsa
In addition to investing in Tulsa’s critical energy infrastructure and reducing its carbon footprint, with Vicinity’s 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 Tulsa, you can rely on district energy to help keep you up and running.