Harvard Medical School & Affiliated Hospitals are powered by ENGIE
PEOPLE
+2.4 Million
patients well-served annually
ENERGY
24/7
available without fail
In Boston, ENGIE signed a 35-year energy supply and utility services agreement with Longwood Medical Energy Collaborative (LMEC), which plans and coordinates the energy services needs of Harvard Medical School and five affiliated hospitals and research institutions.
Delivered in partnership with Axium Infrastructure, the agreement comprises an electricity microgrid and a district heating and cooling network. ENGIE’s services are enabling LMEC’s member hospitals and research centers to focus on their missions of patient care and advancements in medicine. Future sustainable energy service enhancements may include solar energy, energy storage, and facilities management.
ENGIE’s Partnered Approach
ENGIE and its development partner Axium Infrastructure created the Longwood Energy Partnership (LEP) and are working with LMEC to align the need for safe, reliable, and resilient energy delivery with forward-looking sustainability goals. The partners also recognize, that while each LMEC entity is unique, the collaborative would be better served with a systematic, rather than a case-by-case, approach to utility infrastructure and delivery, as it would enhance efficiency and improve responsiveness. (This has been especially important during the COVID-19 pandemic.)
The approach was jointly conceived by LMEC and LEP, and is being developed through regular meetings between ENGIE operations and maintenance personnel and the LMEC Board of Directors and Energy Steering Committee.
The Solution
Under a 35-year agreement (through 2051), LEP will provide central plant management for LMEC’s six main medical facilities. Utility services under the agreement include a microgrid and a 112-million-square-foot district heating and cooling network that serves 74 buildings. The microgrid and district energy system have the capacity to produce 99 MW of electricity, 1,100,000 lbs/hr of steam, and 42,000 tons of chilled water.
The agreement covers operations, procurement, and risk management of power and gas systems. It also includes performance guarantees during outages or failures for 450 GWh of power, 5 bcf of natural gas, and other commodities.
Opportunities exist for future sustainability improvements through investments in solar energy, energy storage, and facilities management.
The Results
The district heating and cooling networks provide LMEC with the most efficient, reliable, and cost-effective means of providing energy while improving sustainability. They are backed by ENGIE’s risk management and performance guarantees, which give LMEC’s member healthcare and researcher institutions peace of mind as they focus their efforts on world-class patient care and advances in medicine.
Longwood Medical and ENGIE are collaborating to further develop their long-term sustainability goals.
About Longwood Medical Energy Collaborative
LMEC is a non-profit body that coordinates and plans the energy needs for Harvard Medical School, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston Children’s Hospital, Brigham & Women’s Hospital, Dana Farber Cancer Institute, and Joslin Diabetes Center. Collectively, these institutions span 74 buildings, approximately 2,000 beds, and serve more than 100,000 inpatients and 2.4 million outpatients annually. In addition, the Harvard-affiliated hospitals conduct critical research that continues to provide medical breakthroughs.