Vicinity Energy’s CEO Kevin Hagerty took part in an Energy Innovations panel, hosted by The Boston Globe and presented by the Museum of Science. The panel explored the past, present, and future of energy innovations, including what has shaped the current landscape and the groundbreaking advancements that are driving us toward a sustainable future. Climate reporter Sabrina Shankman moderated the dynamic conversation between Kevin and the Executive Director of HEETlabs, Audrey Schulman, and the Chief Technology Officer of Innovation at Schneider Electric, Scott Harden.
Tag: Philadelphia
Sustainability spotlight: a conversation between Vicinity Energy and Ballard Spahr
Sustainability spotlight: a conversation between Vicinity Energy and Ballard Spahr
In this episode of Ballard Spahr’s Sustainability Spotlight series, Vicinity Energy’s Chief Sustainability Officer Matt O’Malley and Vice President of Government Affairs Jeannie Morris discuss how Vicinity is combating the climate crisis with carbon-free eSteam™ and why more businesses need to take action now. Brendan K. Collins, a partner in Ballard Spahr’s Philadelphia Office and leader of the firm’s Manufacturing and Consumer Products Industry Group, hosts the discussion.
About Ballard Spahr LLP
Ballard Spahr LLP, an Am Law 100 law firm with more than 600 lawyers in 15 U.S. offices, serves clients across industry sectors in litigation, transactions, and regulatory compliance. The firm’s Sustainability Spotlight podcast highlights the sustainability efforts that businesses are making to combat climate change and other environmental challenges.
Reliable green steam supports The Curtis’ office to lab conversion in Philadelphia
Industry
Life sciences
Location
Philadelphia, PA
Square footage
912,245
The customer
Situated near Independence Hall, The Curtis, founded in 1891 and owned by the Keystone Property Group, is a historic 12-floor, mixed-use building. From luxury living to collaborative office spaces and a wide range of retail and dining offerings, this revitalized Philadelphia icon also supports the city’s booming life sciences industry with its innovative lab facilities.
The challenge
Because of the city’s thriving life sciences scene, Keystone sought to convert The Curtis’ traditional office spaces to support lab research. From ventilation, space temperature, and humidity needs to sterilizing laboratory tools and equipment, laboratories have particular and stringent energy requirements to support continuous operations. Keystone’s existing onsite boiler could not handle the precise requirements necessary for laboratory research and the increasing energy demands of life science tenants. Keystone needed an alternative energy solution to serve the high-pressure, clean steam requirements to attract and support life science tenants’ needs.
The solution
To meet the unique energy needs and space requirements while ensuring peak reliability at The Curtis, Keystone turned to Vicinity’s district energy system for heating, reheating, sterilization, and humidification to support lab research.
“This is an exciting time for the life sciences industry in Philadelphia, and The Curtis’ conversion from office to lab space is at the forefront of the city’s life science sector. Thanks to the reliability and flexibility of district energy, tenants can be confident that our labs will maintain consistent 24/7 heating, reheating, sterilization, and humidification to meet the specific requirements needed to support their critical research,” states Keystone Property Group’s Senior Property Manager Sam Mattei.
Empowering Keystone to meet each tenant’s needs
Keystone recognized the value of district energy in its scalability and capacity to deliver the uninterrupted—and sustainable—low-carbon thermal energy required for tenant lab spaces. Keystone can conveniently increase its steam demand to support additional floors if needed, without any additional upfront capital investment.
Supporting mission-critical needs
High-pressure steam is the preferred method of sterilization for state-of-the-art hospitals and research facilities across the globe. Vicinity reduces energy risk for The Curtis and offers 99.99% uptime energy delivery through interconnected central energy facilities with multiple power supplies, back-up generation, and several water and fuel sources in the event of interruptions to other utilities. Access to reliable and clean district steam allows the life science tenants to carry on their mission-critical research without compromising on productivity, safety, or results.
Reducing Philadelphia’s carbon footprint
The partnership between Keystone and Vicinity drives sustainability in The Curtis and beyond, lowering the building’s carbon footprint and impact on the surrounding community. Because Vicinity’s district energy system relies on the highly efficient combined heat and power (CHP) process and biogenic fuels to produce steam, The Curtis is able to avoid approximately 168 tons of carbon each year, the equivalent of removing 34 cars from the road. As Vicinity transitions to cleaner energy solutions and incorporates new technologies at Philadelphia’s central facilities, The Curtis will benefit from continuous greening solutions that will further cut carbon emissions.
Benefits
168 tons of annual carbon emission savings
99.99% reliability
Meet stringent energy needs
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Summer readiness checklist
As temperatures rise, it’s time to ensure HVAC systems are geared up for the summer heat to optimize building systems’ performance, conserve energy, and keep occupants comfortable and safe during heat waves, hurricanes, tornados, tropical cyclones, floods, or other extreme weather events.
Whether buildings use district chilled water or operate onsite chillers and cooling towers, regularly reviewing and implementing this guide ensures proactive building readiness for summer temperatures, helps maximize equipment lifespan, and improves overall energy efficiency.
Print out this summer preparedness checklist and review it every spring to prepare staff and equipment for the coming warm temperatures. Please note that the steps will vary depending on the equipment present onsite.
Contact your account manager to explore partnering with Vicinity’s operations and maintenance experts to assist with summer readiness, equipment upgrades, or preventative maintenance programs.
Vicinity leverages best practices at its central facilities to provide a smooth transition into the summer season. These protocols ensure safe, reliable, and consistent operation to prevent service disruptions for customers who leverage chilled water or steam for cooling purposes. Vicinity’s interconnected energy facilities offer 99.99% uptime energy delivery with resiliency through redundant power and fuel sources.
Vicinity’s summer preparedness includes extensive cooling tower and chiller inspection and cleaning at Vicinity’s central facilities that produce chilled water, including basin cleaning, sterilization to prevent bacteria growth, and oil inspections on gearboxes and fan belts. Vicinity also performs eddy current testing to detect leaks on chiller tubes and inspects refrigerant and oil samples. Mid-season, Vicinity performs additional maintenance to ensure smooth operation of the central facilities before scorching weather conditions, hurricanes, tornadoes, tropical cyclones, floods, or other extreme summer weather events. Each day, Vicinity monitors atmospheric pressure, humidity, and temperature to anticipate and meet customer buildings’ energy demands, and confirms redundancies are in place to minimize any disruptions to steam or chilled water service.
By taking these proactive steps, Vicinity delivers reliable customer service year-round and reduces the maintenance needed onsite at customers’ buildings.
Pumps & Systems podcast: Heat pumps & decarbonization
In this episode of the Pumps & Systems podcast, Bill DiCroce, President and Chief Executive Officer of Vicinity Energy discussed the role heat pumps can play in decarbonization, as well as the efforts cities like Boston are currently making to strive for sustainability and an eventual goal of net zero carbon emissions.
Recommended preventative maintenance
Vicinity’s comprehensive maintenance services are offered year-round—during peak usage or before system turn-ons—to optimize steam efficiency, reliability, and cost savings.
Improve the operating performance of steam systems by taking preventive steps to avoid energy losses. Customers who have leveraged Vicinity’s preventive maintenance program have experienced the following benefits:- Conserved energy and reduced energy costs by improving system performance and eliminating inefficiencies.
- Improved reliability by identifying problem areas that could cause unscheduled system outages.
- Optimized capital expenditure and operating expenses by maximizing system efficiency and strategically planning for infrastructure investments with an identified budget for equipment repair or replacement.
- Improved operating procedures by reviewing, refining, and documenting preventative maintenance best practices.
Steam traps
- Service description: Survey building, locate, identify, tag, and test steam trap performance.
- Maintenance value: Ensure steam traps function correctly and prevent issues that can lead to energy waste, equipment damage, and safety hazards.
Pressure Regulating Valves (PRVs)
- Service description: Identify valves’ make, model, size, and serial number. Test pilot valve for leaks, clean orifices, check diaphragm plates, test the gauging, and set to desired system pressure.
- Maintenance value: Prevent system over-pressurization and relief valves from releasing steam into the atmosphere. Failed PRVs may improperly cycle open and close, both oversupplying and then starving the downstream equipment of steam.
Strainers
- Service description: Inspect screens and clean out debris, evaluate source of debris, and troubleshoot. Ensure blow-down valves are functioning properly to flush trapped material.
- Maintenance value: Reduce rust and pipe scale damage to valves and pumps. Ensure heat transfer surfaces are kept free of efficiency reducing deposits.
Heat exchangers
- Service description: Perform water chemistry testing, determine if leaks exist, measure tube thickness, repair or plug tubes as needed, and perform preventative maintenance, such as hydrolasing or cleaning as needed.
- Maintenance value: Recover efficiency losses, optimize operation of the exchangers, and reduce energy consumption.
Steam pipe
- Service description: Inspect steam piping. Check for leaking joints, watermarks on insulation, and corrosion.
- Maintenance value: Deliver safe and reliable steam into the building while reducing potential for steam emissions into the building.
Condensate return line
- Service description: Inspect for leaks and corrosion. Check condensate pump seals for leaks. Check vent pipes for vapor emissions.
- Maintenance value: Avoid condensate water spills, ensure proper evacuation of condensate from system lines, and identify the presence of leaking steam traps in the system.
Mechanical room hot water loop
- Service description: Inspect all piping, inlet/outlet temperatures, and pressures on heat exchangers and mechanical pumps.
- Maintenance value: Confirm adequate operation of key energy transfer equipment, such as heat exchangers, which supply building heat, hot water, or other process loads.
Seasonal and maintenance shutdowns/turn-ons
- Service description: Manage closure and opening of Vicinity’s main service valve for seasonal system curtailment or start of use. Shutdowns require draining of systems while turn-ons require both draining of systems and operating pressure checks.
- Maintenance value: Ensure safe and confined operation of Vicinity’s main service valve for shutdowns/turn-ons related to seasonal changes and maintenance activities. Reduce radiant energy losses, condensate accumulation in system piping, and mechanical room air space temperature. Prevent pipes from rotting and prepare systems to be dormant for an extended period by draining the systems for shutdowns.
