Boston PIC Continues Vicinity Energy Steam Petition, Demands Decarbonization Commitments on Record

BOSTON -- March 2, 2023, Boston PIC continues Vicinity Energy's Fenway steam line petition over unresolved decarbonization questions. The Public Improvement Commission voted unanimously to grant a two-week continuance to Vicinity Energy Boston's petition for a grant of location to install roughly 3,000 linear feet of 18-inch steam main through Brookline Avenue, Lansdowne Street, Ipswich Street, and Boylston Street in the Fenway neighborhood, after the commission chair pressed company representatives on the specifics of their "e-steam" decarbonization commitments. Construction project manager Dan Kennedy and colleague Lindsay Sands were unable to provide on-the-record contract figures, renewable energy procurement details, or timelines for retiring fossil-fuel infrastructure at Vicinity's Boston facilities. "We came here to talk more about the installation of the pipeline than policy," Kennedy said, prompting the chair to respond that the two questions were "inextricably linked." The commission separately approved all six street-improvement petitions for the 191-unit Willow Baker LLC mixed-use development at Willow Court and Baker Court in Dorchester, and also continued a Seaport Square roadway improvement package to March 16 after the city's Office of Historic Preservation stated for the third time that the project requires review by the Fort Point Landmark District Commission.