Morgantown
Servicing 9.9 million square feet of space in Morgantown with sustainable district energy.
Through an acquisition, Vicinity owns and operates Morgantown Energy Associates, the district energy system serving West Virginia University (WVU) in Morgantown, West Virginia. Located on the banks of the Monongahela River, the system was constructed and began servicing WVU in 1992, historically burning coal as its primary fuel supply to distribute steam through a 2.25-mile underground distribution system.
Vicinity is converting the existing natural gas fired infrastructure to dual fuel with ultra-low sulfur diesel (ULSD) as backup and will install two additional dual fuel boilers to the plant. Vicinity ceased coal operations in June 2020 and will primarily burn natural gas to meet the heating, cooling, domestic hot water, and sterilization needs of the University and Medical Center’s footprint of 9.9 million square feet, eliminating approximately 50 percent of the steam system’s carbon footprint. This will further improve air quality for WVU by significantly reducing other air pollutants and removing 4,800 truckloads of coal from the roads every year.
50%
4,800
9.9 million
Investing in District Energy
By centralizing and aggregating the production of heat, hot and chilled water to multiple buildings, district energy cuts down on the amount of fuel that would be required by individual buildings using onsite generation, and the resulting carbon emissions.
District systems and infrastructure can easily be updated to integrate new technologies and/or renewable fuels that benefit a great number of buildings in a geographic footprint. This allows for carbon footprint reductions at a scale that would be impossible to achieve on an individual basis.
Meet The Federal Building Performance Standard With District Energy
Vicinity's systems can help you instantly meet the requirements set by Biden's Building Performance Standard (BPS) while benefiting from the efficient, sustainable, and reliable service district energy provides.
An Innovative Approach to a Cleaner Environment
With decades of building and managing the largest energy districts in the U.S., Vicinity continues to innovate and invest in sustainable energy infrastructure and technology to reduce our overall environmental impact.
Our Clean Energy Future is a reflection of this commitment and incorporates the latest strategies and technologies available, including:
- Electrifying generation to further reduce carbon emissions as the grid gets greener;
- Investing in efficiency projects and upgrades to our existing district infrastructure;
- Leveraging renewable energy for our “house loads” in our facilities;
- Researching new opportunities, like the introduction of battery storage, to meet the needs of customers and avoid costly grid interruption; and
- Exploring additional leading-edge technologies to accelerate our transition.
How District Energy Works
District energy is an innovative and resilient energy solution that uses a centrally located facility, or facilities, to generate thermal energy—heat, hot water, or chilled water—which is then transported through highly insulated underground pipes directly to nearby buildings, avoiding the need for boilers, chillers and cooling towers in individual buildings. Watch the video to learn more about how district energy works.
A Clean Energy Future is in our Grasp
Our Customers
We help organizations of all sizes—from hospitals to hotels to municipalities—use and manage energy more efficiently, sustainably, and strategically.
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