Energies Media
Summary
Boston is pulling heat from its harbor and rivers to warm thousands of buildings, and the rest of the world’s coastal cities are starting to pay close attention.
Beneath the surface of one of America’s oldest urban cores, a transformative energy revolution is quietly unfolding. Urban planners, climate pioneers, and universities are turning away from traditional fossil heating to tap an abundant local resource.
Concrete infrastructure is already proving this concept across the region. On the waterfront, UMass Boston has successfully utilized seawater cooling systems since the 1970s.
The university is now installing advanced heat pumps to extract thermal energy from seawater to warm classrooms, laboratories, and dormitories across 12 campus buildings. This upgrade will cut natural gas usage by 82%, with future phases aiming for 100% elimination.
Nearby, Vicinity Energy is constructing a 35-megawatt heat pump facility along the Charles River—the largest water-source heat pump system in North America. Meanwhile, the BosTEN initiative is actively assessing harbor and river energy extraction, with full technical recommendations expected by mid-2027.
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