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Summary
Buildings account for the majority of greenhouse gas emissions in Boston and Cambridge. Both cities have aggressive climate goals that require large building owners to gradually reduce emissions to net zero by 2050.
One big challenge building owners face is to figure out how to cut their heating systems’ emissions, which account for roughly half of their carbon footprint. Many of these large buildings rely on older steam heat systems, which were originally developed to use the steam byproduct from electricity generated by burning coal, and later natural gas.
Now, a natural gas power plant in Kendall Square is trying to make that steam greener. Vicinity Energy, the company that runs the plant, is installing an industrial-scale electric boiler to produce the steam.
As more renewable energy is developed to power Massachusetts’ electrical grid, the steam’s carbon footprint will continue to lower.
Eventually, “it'd be zero emissions, right? Because we're going to take in renewable power,” said Don Silvia, Vicinity Energy’s regional vice president of operations.
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