CenTrio, formerly known as the Seattle Steam Company, is a
district heating
District heating (also known as heat networks) is a system for distributing heat generated in a centralized location through a system of insulated pipes for residential and commercial heating requirements such as space heater, space heating and w ...
public utility
A public utility company (usually just utility) is an organization that maintains the infrastructure for a public service (often also providing a service using that infrastructure). Public utilities are subject to forms of public control and ...
that provides
steam
Steam is water vapor, often mixed with air or an aerosol of liquid water droplets. This may occur due to evaporation or due to boiling, where heat is applied until water reaches the enthalpy of vaporization. Saturated or superheated steam is inv ...
(generated by burning
natural gas
Natural gas (also fossil gas, methane gas, and gas) is a naturally occurring compound of gaseous hydrocarbons, primarily methane (95%), small amounts of higher alkanes, and traces of carbon dioxide and nitrogen, hydrogen sulfide and helium ...
,
diesel oil, and
recycled wood) to over 175 businesses in
downtown Seattle and on
First and
Capitol Hills via 18 miles of steam pipeline.
Its plants are located on Western Avenue at Union Street, just west of
Pike Place Market
Pike Place Market is a Marketplaces#Types, public market in Seattle, Washington, United States. It opened on August 17, 1907, and is one of the oldest continuously operated public farmers' markets in the United States. Overlooking the Elliott B ...
, and on Post Avenue at Yesler Way, in
Pioneer Square.
About
Seattle Steam was founded in 1893 as the Seattle Steam Heat and Power Co. It owns 18 miles of pipes under the streets of Downtown. Its average winter output is of steam per hour; this drops to less than in the summer.
[
Seattle Steam's biggest customers are Swedish Medical Center, ]Harborview Medical Center
Harborview Medical Center is a public hospital located in the First Hill neighborhood of Seattle, Washington, United States. It is owned by King County and managed by UW Medicine.
Overview
Harborview Medical Center is the designated Disast ...
, and Virginia Mason Medical Center, which use the steam for heat and sterilization. Other big customers include hotel
A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis. Facilities provided inside a hotel room may range from a modest-quality mattress in a small room to large suites with bigger, higher-quality beds, a dresser, a re ...
s, which use the steam for heat and for generating hot water, Seattle Public Library, which uses it for heat and the Seattle Art Museum, which uses it for heat and humidity control.
In May 2014, Seattle Steam was bought by Enwave Energy Corporation, a unit of Brookfield Asset Management of Toronto
Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...
, and renamed Enwave Seattle.
Retrieved 2016-01-22 In April 2021,
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...
n investment firm
QIC partnered with
Ullico to acquire "100% interest"
in Enwave Energy's U.S. business, rebranding those operations (including Enwave Seattle) to CenTrio.
Gallery
Image:Seattle Steam Company from Western.jpg, Main plant, seen here from Western Avenue
Image:Seattle Steam Company.jpg, Main plant, downtown
Image:Seattle - Post Steam Plant from south - B.jpg, Old Post Station, Seattle Steam Company (at center)
File:Seattle Steam Goes Green sign Western Avenue Seattle Washington.JPG, Sign on wood handling building on Western Avenue
File:New Seattle Steam plant Western Avenue downtown Seattle Washington.JPG, Wood handling building and storage silo
File:Seattle Steam plant Western Avenue Seattle Washington 2010.JPG, View of the main plant on Western Avenue
See also
*Holly Steam Combination Company
*
Utilities of Seattle
References
External links
*
* {{cite web , last=Stiles , first=Marc , title=Powers that be: Large-scale decarbonization is expected to drive up power costs in Washington, website=bizjournals.com , date=2023-04-23 , url=https://www.bizjournals.com/seattle/news/2023/04/23/seattle-upgrades-power-grid-decarbonization.html , ref=none , access-date=2023-04-24
Companies based in Seattle