Eversource, along with representatives from BXP – the largest publicly traded developer, owner, and manager of premier workplaces in the US, along with community partners, and state and local officials, have inaugurated construction of the Greater Cambridge Energy Program (GCEP), a transmission initiative in Massachusetts to address the increased electric demand in the region, enhance the resiliency of the transmission system, and ensure a flexible grid to reliably serve customers while supporting electrification and decarbonisation goals.
The project will also enable the interconnection of more new clean energy resources to support additional electric supply and increase the grid’s capacity, as more customers are adopting clean technologies like electric vehicles and heat pumps in the coming years.
Innovatively designed to place a significant amount of needed infrastructure underground, GCEP includes Eversource’s first underground substation — the largest in the country at 35,000 square feet. It will be located 105 feet underground beneath new public green space between Broadway and Binney Street and integrated into BXP’s Life Sciences Center at the former Kendall Center Blue Garage site. As energy demand continues to increase in Cambridge and surrounding areas, the output from GCEP’s underground substation provides capacity to address 100 per cent of residential heating electrification as well as the ability to displace 50 per cent of the commercial sector’s gas demand through electrification.
The GCEP is a true example of public and private partnership created to solve a critical community challenge. Partners include Eversource, BXP, the Cambridge Redevelopment Authority (CRA), and the City of Cambridge.
As part of GCEP, Eversource will also construct eight new 115 kV underground transmission lines covering 8.3 miles (13.3 km) through portions of Cambridge, Somerville, and Boston. Moreover, additional work includes upgrades to five substations, or clean energy hubs, in Cambridge, Somerville, and Allston/Brighton, and the construction of 48 new distribution lines.
As per the CRA, the value of Kendall Square’s development rights were turned into a ground-breaking opportunity – a parking garage has been transformed into vital utility infrastructure, cutting-edge lab space for life sciences research, and vibrant open space that enhances the neighbourhood.
Eversource expects GCEP to be operational in 2029 with the energisation of the substation and the first transmission line. The remaining transmission lines are predicted to be put into service through 2031. Approximately 500 full-time jobs will be supported throughout the duration of the project.