MassPort: Net Zero by 2031

Galen Nelson
Hello, and welcome, everyone. Welcome to Thoughtful Climate. My guest today is Jill Valdes Horwood, who serves as the Climate Chief and Resilience Officer of Massport, which owns and operates Logan Airport and four other critical passenger and freight facilities in Massachusetts. As many of you listeners know, here on Thoughtful Climate, we highlight experts, pioneers, and practitioners from a variety of existing and emerging climate tech sectors, as well as subject matter experts who can provide insights into the broader economic, social, and technological dynamics shaping the climate tech industry, and often inform MassCEC\'s approach to a rapidly shifting industry landscape. Today we are talking about Massport\'s ambitious net zero by 2031 climate plan. Before I jump to Jill, a bit about why I am focusing our dialogue today on Massport. Most people associate Massport with Logan Airport, Boston\'s international and the region\'s largest airport. But Massport also owns and operates several other key passenger and freight transportation assets, including the Conley Terminal in Boston, where container ships transfer cargo, Hanscom Field, and a couple of others. Applying an energy and emissions lens to these facilities, taken together, they include such a wide variety of energy needs. You have buildings of all shapes and sizes, aircraft, medium and heavy-duty vehicles, ground service equipment, container ship gantry cranes, cruise ships, and so on. Then you have thousands of passengers arriving and departing Logan every day in private vehicles, via the MBTA, via TNCs, Uber and Lyft, by boat, and thousands of employees doing the same, and all of their associated emissions. This seems like an enormous challenge, Jill, but also an incredible opportunity to experiment with a variety of decarbonization approaches that can be replicated by universities, military bases, and other large campus facilities with complex, multifaceted energy and resource management challenges. Is that the way you view this challenge? This is a relatively new position.

Jill Valdes Horwood
Hi, Galen, hi everyone. Thanks for having me. This is very exciting. You are right, it is a relatively new not just position, it is a relatively new department at Massport. I think I have been here all of eight months, but I have a much longer history with climate. About maybe ten months ago, our CEO, Rich Davey, realized climate is a full-time gig. We need to be thinking about climate 24-7, 365. It felt like the right time for Massport to have a dedicated department thinking about how we are going to tackle our Net Zero 2031 commitment, but also to stay in the game, stay ahead of the game, and remain competitive. Climate is part of everyday operations. It is not just a strategy, it is the future. It was important to have someone leading this work. It is very exciting for me to be heading up this new department, building the team, and helping Massport move our commitment along. You are right, it is not a small commitment, but it is an exciting one. Just like us, there are entities across the state, across the country, across the world that have also made similar commitments. We are not going at it alone. This is a good place to start in terms of the size of the commitment. Our net zero commitment to 2031 is for our Scope 1 and 2 emissions. We will get technical, and I will try not to do the technical speak because I like to keep it conversational, but that is what we control. Our Scope 3, as people talk about it, is the things we do not control but can influence. As we talk today, I will refer to the ones, twos, and threes, and I will try to clarify what are the things that we have control over and are working on, and what are the things that we have big aspirations to tackle in the future.

Galen Nelson
I appreciate that breakdown in looking through the plan. It is practical and rational, the two big buckets of what Massport controls directly and what you can influence. I was intrigued that you mentioned other authorities around the country and the world are moving in this direction. Do you interface with your peers, your colleagues in other states, other regions about the similar challenges you face, particularly with regard to airport decarbonization?

Jill Valdes Horwood
Absolutely. I come to this role with a background that was deep maritime. I had a steep learning curve in the aviation aspect of things.

Galen Nelson
You are a Mass Maritime grad.

Jill Valdes Horwood
Yes, I am. Mass Maritime. Before that, I was a maritime recovering attorney. It is a big part of my background. When I came into this role, I had deep connections to the climate community, but aviation was one space where I had a lot to learn. I quickly joined organizations where different airports around the country and around the world come together to talk about these common issues, because they are common across all authorities and all airports. We keep regularly connected, especially with the New York area. I have great contacts there. Massport brings folks together through the SAF Hub, which we will talk about later. We like to convene folks because there is a lot we can learn from each other. We are all in different parts of our journey in decarbonization, so there is a lot we can learn from others, and there is a lot we can share with others as we are starting to explore and innovate.

Galen Nelson
That is great. As a state clean energy economic development authority, we find those touchpoints and relationships valuable. Let us jump into the details. Let us start with that first bucket of energy needs and the emissions that you directly control. You list those on your website from the largest emission sources to the smallest. Among those largest, of course, purchased electricity for the entire airport, the Logan Central Heating Plant, Massport vehicles and equipment, cargo handling equipment. Why don\'t we start off with the electricity and the central heating plant. It is helpful to understand how that energy is being used. I assume it is safe to say that the primary load being met at Logan is the electricity consumed in the terminals and other buildings. With regard to heating, that is mostly about space heating. Is that fair to say? Those are the primary uses of electricity and heat at Logan.

Jill Valdes Horwood
This is a great place to start the conversation. You have to understand how energy is used to really set up the bigger climate conversations. You are right. Logan is the fair share of a lot of the energy in Scope 1 and 2, the things directly in our control. Our campus is quite large. You can think of it not just as one building, it is almost like a mini-city. We have terminals, offices, garages, all those spaces that keep an airport running day and night. Most of the electricity we buy goes to lighting, cooling, security systems, baggage handling, the basic airport functions. On the heating side, we have the central heating plant. On a day like today, it plays a major role in our terminals because it is how we heat the terminals during New England winters. If you have been out today, you know that coming inside for a moment of warmth is important. During cold snaps, the central heating plant is working overtime. It takes a lot of energy to keep the airport warm.

Galen Nelson
Is it fair to say that the older buildings generally have steam distribution systems and the newer ones have hot water?

Jill Valdes Horwood
We have a variety of buildings at different stages in their life journey of how they are consuming energy. That is mostly it. In the cooler months, we have to keep it cool, which is just as important as keeping it warm. The central HVAC system runs hard to keep those terminals comfortable when they are full of visitors and passengers.

Galen Nelson
That is a big challenge. As we noted, this is a challenge that so many other buildings in the city face. You have the Vicinity steam system that serves many buildings in downtown Boston. There are active efforts with Vicinity to green that, to decarbonize that steam. There is a lot of opportunity for best practice sharing as you move forward. It is not a small task to decarbonize a central heating plant.

Jill Valdes Horwood
It is not like folks might be thinking, it is just a switch on and off. It is not that simple. It needs to be phased in over time. As buildings are further along in their life, you can start to convert them. You can start to think about phasing them in in a way that makes sense economically. It is an economic question as well. It is not just an on-off central heating plant. It is something we have to think about as we are longer-term planning for how Logan operates and thinking about our future energy use.

Galen Nelson
I am aware that there are preliminary conversations around new alternatives to heat and cool many buildings in Boston. I am also aware of the ocean-based cooling deployed at UMass Boston. Is that on the radar as something to explore? Massport is surrounded by ocean.

Jill Valdes Horwood
Boston Harbor. Part of our title is the Climate Innovation and Resilience Office. Innovation is a big piece of what we are trying to make one of the center cores of our culture here in the department and at Massport. Certainly, talking to folks that are on the cutting edge, MassCEC has been phenomenal connecting us with folks that are thinking next gen. We are not writing anything off. Everything is on the table in terms of how we are thinking about new technologies and new ways of incorporating that into the way we operate. Pilots are hopefully going to be a bigger part of that in the future. We have a lot of research behind the scenes. Just because we have not talked about it publicly does not mean we have not researched it or talked to folks about it. At Massport, it has to be a very pragmatic approach. It is huge operations. When we are considering things like cutting-edge technology, it has to be a longer-term strategy. I would love to be a small operation and deploy the latest and greatest tomorrow, but the pragmatism we have to approach things with is front and center.

Galen Nelson
You have to be up 24-7, 365. It is a credit to Massport that your position was created and that you are thinking about these things. That is where we all are with regard to decarbonizing our larger, older buildings and newer buildings. It is wonderful to have an anchor load as large as Massport at that table to help move that conversation forward. Let us pivot to the electricity supply. I assume Eversource is the core provider for Logan.

Jill Valdes Horwood
We work with all of the utilities across the commonwealth with every type of utility. Eversource is certainly one of the larger ones.

Galen Nelson
For grid power, we are all subject to the carbon content on that grid. I am familiar with the substantial solar that has been deployed at Logan. There may be opportunities for more, but I understand you are land-constrained. It is not like you can put ground-based solar arrays nestled around runways. There is a limited amount of solar that can be deployed at Logan.

Jill Valdes Horwood
You are hitting the nail on the head. Like most large facilities in the region, Logan is connected to the grid. That means our carbon footprint from electricity is tied to what is happening on the regional grid at any given time. Even when we are using electricity efficiently, the emissions still depend on how that power is generated. That is an important reality for Massport, for any airport, and for any large energy user in New England. That is why we like the on-site solar approach and why it has been such a priority for Massport. We have a meaningful amount installed across Logan and our other properties. We are always looking for more opportunities. We want to add more where it makes sense because solar helps in two ways. It directly reduces the amount of grid electricity we need, and it supports the broader transition as we start to electrify more of our operations. We are relying on taking things off of fossil fuels and electrifying them. The challenge at Logan, which is not unique to Logan but is a constraint, is that we are an urban airport. We do not have endless open land. We are not Denver with miles and miles of land area. Our on-site solar will not help us meet our full electricity demand. The bigger picture here, and one of the first tasks we had as a department, was to think about our overall portfolio. How are we going to tackle the reality that solar is not going to be the end-all, be-all? How do we diversify our portfolio? That is looking at things beyond our on-site generation, looking at things like how do we procure power, how do we align with the region\'s clean energy transition? Massport is unique in that we buy our own power from Eversource, from National Grid, from Concord. We have the ability to work with every type of utility in the commonwealth. Power purchase agreements and other clean energy procurement are a big part of the conversation. We know there is no single silver bullet, but as one of several ways to reduce carbon intensity of the electricity we rely on, it is active conversation.

Galen Nelson
That makes sense. To purchase clean energy from other parts of New England or beyond. How about on energy resilience? I am sure there is substantial backup generation, likely diesel gensets, needed for reliability at a facility like this. Have you explored energy storage as both a resilience play and to take advantage of the revenues that storage can generate in our markets?

Jill Valdes Horwood
In addition to a great team, we have great consultants helping us think through that. We are looking at battery storage. There are a lot of things we are researching behind the scenes before we come out and take a position. That is one of the things we are actively thinking about in terms of our clean power as part of that broader net-zero strategy. 2031 is the first milestone, but our net-zero strategy is much longer. By 2040, we are going to be net zero for Scope 1, 2, and 3. I am calling it a zero plus, let us put an asterisk on that because Scope 3 is the largest scope we will have to tackle.

Galen Nelson
We talked about the heating plant. Is there anything else you want to hit there? I assume that heating plant runs on natural gas. It is not an easy asset to decarbonize. I have been encouraged by what I am seeing with Vicinity and the decarbonization of the steam that serves many buildings in Boston. What are your near and longer-term plans for the heating plant?

Jill Valdes Horwood
It is true that the central heating plant is a big component of what keeps Logan running efficiently. One thing we know for a fact is it is not whether we need to decarbonize, it is how do we do it and how do we do it responsibly. Right now, we are thinking about a phased approach, a no-regrets approach. We want to improve efficiency. We are planning for future flexibility, making sure that whatever decisions we are making today do not block cleaner options for tomorrow. One reality is we have to maintain continuous operations. Managing that risk and ensuring that passengers do not feel the difference is important. If you do not notice, we are doing our job. It is less about the big switch and more about thoughtful sequencing over time. One critical component of our department being established is we are cross-cutting. We work with capital programs, with aviation, with maritime, and try to connect strategies so that the sequencing makes sense and is incorporated into how we are thinking about the next ten years of our strategic plan and beyond.

Galen Nelson
I am aware that Massport recently joined the Green Ribbon Commission. I mention that because I am aware of efforts, particularly at Harvard, to think about this tricky transition where you have old, beautiful buildings that are steam-based, but in new construction with much tighter envelopes where hot water systems are sufficient. There is a need to make that transition. The Green Ribbon Commission provides a platform for folks like you to connect with leadership over that transition. It seems like there is a great opportunity for best practice sharing with this challenge in mind.

Jill Valdes Horwood
I am excited that Massport is now part of the Green Ribbon Commission. I have been involved in some form with the GRC since its beginnings. It is nice to come into this role and be able to tap into the wealth of knowledge, research, and convening that the GRC brings together. It is like being amongst friends trying to tackle big challenges together. Going back to your earlier question about how do you stay connected, that is one of the best ways. That is also how we stay on top of what folks are thinking, what others are doing that is cutting edge. We have looked at Harvard, we have looked at what Cambridge did, looking at those that are a little further ahead in understanding what the challenges were. Is there something here that we can learn from? Is there something that we can take and make our own as Massport? We have already started to explore some of those conversations. The GRC has pushed folks to be thinking a little further into the future than they probably would have otherwise. It is great to be part of that group.

Galen Nelson
Important to have those forces pushing us in the right direction.

Jill Valdes Horwood
Absolutely.

Galen Nelson
Sticking to the bucket of what Massport controls, but pivoting to a different facility. I am fascinated by the cargo facilities, the Conley Terminal, where the container ships come in. You have the enormous gantry cranes. If you approach Logan from the south and land on that runway, you see that facility. The cargo handling equipment is very powerful. It needs to lift enormous containers and run for long hours. I would love to hear about the plans there. What are the approaches? I have had conversations with folks looking at green ports. There seems to be a friendly competition between hydrogen and electric depending on the duty cycle or the equipment type. We would love to hear you talk a little bit about the cargo handling equipment at Conley and what the best paths for decarbonization are there.

Jill Valdes Horwood
I have to correct you, it is not just the little boy, it is also the little girl. The maritime, to me, was always a draw. I have a lot of friends that ask me where they should take their young kiddo for Boston-friendly things. I say take them to Castle Island and just look at the cranes at Conley. It is such a cool, prominent architecture for Boston, the cranes. If you fly into Logan from the south, you pass right over it. It draws attention because they are massive cranes. They are some of the most energy-intensive equipment at the terminal. Ports are a critical part of the climate conversation. Cargo handling is heavy, it runs hard, it has demanding duty cycles. It is not light-duty work. We depend on reliability and safety. Those are non-negotiables. The clearest progress at ports, including Conley, looks like electrification and transition fuels. Massport has moved forward on electrifying certain types of cargo handling equipment where it makes operational sense. We have transitioned other equipment to low-carbon fuels as an interim step. Some of this equipment, the technology is just not there yet for electrification. They are large, they require tons of capacity. In the meantime, as we are allowing the industry to develop, we want to make sure we are still cutting emissions. That is why we are looking at that interim low-carbon fuel opportunity. It is a near-term solution. We are going to see a lot of development in this space in terms of how we are looking at emissions reductions that will be meaningful. Part of what I am learning in this role is balancing feasibility with strategic planning. How do we do that methodically so that we are continuing to cut emissions and also wait for the latest and greatest technology? Hydrogen has certainly been part of the conversation. Folks have reached out and asked if we are thinking about this. Same goes for hydropower. It is interesting to be having those conversations this early in how we are thinking about the future of the port. The part about the equipment that maybe not everyone sees, because you are not standing watching Conley Terminal all night, is that they run for long shifts and carry heavy loads. Batteries alone can still be challenging in terms of operating some of those. In those cases, transition fuels help reduce emissions while the technology gets there.

Galen Nelson
Quickly on that, I am interested in the extent to which pairing those increases in electric loads with energy storage could address the duty cycle challenges. Also, do you anticipate that there will be substantial needs to upgrade the distribution system, that Eversource will need to upgrade the distribution system to accommodate electrification? A lot of people do not assume that. They may think, why are they not just electrifying overnight? It is because you need adequate grid power.

Jill Valdes Horwood
This is a great plug for work that my team is currently doing. In order to get a sense of where we can get the most emissions reduction for our buck, we want to create a baseline. We have a maritime GHG emissions inventory that is looking at all of the operations in the terminal and also at the cruise port. We are trying to get a better sense of what is the usage, when is it peak, what does it look like? You are right, it is not just about putting in that piece. It is also thinking about the overall port infrastructure, the layout, the power, the charging. As we start to put these things into place, you have to be careful not to lock ourselves out of better solutions in the future. It is the balance of how we work toward reducing those emissions. The inventory is a critical first step to understand where we can do the most in this moment, short-term solution, but also helping us understand longer term. As we are putting things into place and spending real dollars to upgrade our infrastructure, what is going to be the most meaningful change? That requires conversations with Eversource and National Grid to provide that load at Conley and the cruise port.

Galen Nelson
It is important to underscore the challenges that public-facing agencies or authorities face in managing this transition. It is easy to think about changing everything overnight. It would be wonderful if we could do that. You are having to, and this may be a good or bad analogy, build a plane as you fly it.

Jill Valdes Horwood
I have heard that one before. We will accept it.

Galen Nelson
You have to manage the transition because these facilities have to be up and running reliably 24-7. You have uncertainty around technology. You cannot let that be an excuse to take no action, but you have to be very measured because your finances and expenditures are appropriately scrutinized. It is a difficult balance.

Jill Valdes Horwood
I am so glad you bring that up. My background, and anyone who looks me up, I was an advocate for a very long time. I was on the other side of the table at Massport asking the hard questions and holding them accountable. There are a lot of things that go into the operations at Massport. The balance becomes important because of what you just said. We cannot shut down Logan for a significant amount of time while we convert all these things. It has to be steady progress. It is not an overnight transformation. That becomes part of the strategy. It is also thinking about maintaining competitiveness. There are other airports, and there are other ports. We want to stay in the game and remain competitive. The last component is the financing of it all. It is not short dollars. Thinking about how we incorporate and balance all of that into an approach that makes sense but also feels like meaningful progress. If you ask me what I like most about my job, it is that tension. What is the most challenging part of your job? It is that tension. Those are the things that you have to sort of bring together and understand. Some folks are going to be like, did you get it quite right? I do not know, but we are going to try it. That is where that pilot conversation comes in. That is where that innovation part of our department comes in. We also understand we have a long history of being reliable, of safety, of being there for the community. Balancing those two is what it is all about. It makes the work fun and engaging.

Galen Nelson
I am glad you said that. I had not contemplated asking you that question. I am glad you asked yourself. It is wonderful to hear that is what excites you.

Jill Valdes Horwood
That is what you are going to get from me. My job is awesome, and there are challenges, and there is immense opportunity. That is the sweet spot.

Galen Nelson
The challenges are part of the awesomeness. If it were easy every day, it would not be so incredible. Let us move on to that second bucket, the emissions over which Massport has some degree of influence. There are a number of major categories that fall into that bucket. Aircraft, we will talk about that first. Aircraft-related emissions, passenger and employee transportation-related emissions, cruise vessels, and a few more. Let us jump into aircraft fuel emissions. It probably tops that list. While electric or hybrid solutions are interesting for smaller aircraft, I have had conversations with Cape Air. They are very interested in this space. We have seen some early movers. That is exciting for smaller aircraft. I hope we continue to see progress in that space. My sense is that all bets are on SAF, Sustainable Aviation Fuels, as the most promising pathway for decarbonizing aviation for large commercial aircraft. In addition to needing to bring down cost curves, there is a chicken-or-egg dynamic. The airlines need supply certainty, and suppliers want demand certainty. In my mind, this is a perfect situation for the public sector to intervene with relevant regulatory frameworks. I think we will get into where those regulatory frameworks are relevant, federal versus state. Is that your sense of the overall context of where we are with SAFs? Where is the EU in all of this? It seems like they are pushing the world forward on SAF adoption.

Jill Valdes Horwood
You are right, it is a hot topic. These are the hard-hitting questions. There is a reason why SAF is such a hot topic in this moment. Most of the climate impact tied to an airport is not the terminal. That is about 12%. A huge percentage comes from the fuel that is burned once the planes are pushing back from the gate. That is why SAF is such a hot topic. It is a central part of any serious decarbonization plan. You are right about smaller planes may be electric, but the large passenger planes you take to Puerto Rico or to Denver are not going to be electrified. There is the chicken-or-egg dynamic you are talking about. The airlines want the confidence that SAF supply is going to grow before they commit at scale. Fuel producers want the demand guarantees before they build new capacity. Regulators are trying to understand and come up with something before the market can deliver it reliably and affordably. Everyone is having these conversations.

Jill Valdes Horwood
Massport has been convening the New England Regional SAF Hub. There is a page on our website if folks want to learn more. We are not just sitting on that tension. We wanted to bring folks together to be proactive, to talk about the frustrations in these conversations, the challenges, the opportunities, in a collaborative platform bringing together a lot of different stakeholders. It is kind of a big deal in this space. We have airports, airlines, fuel producers, government agencies, academia. Build that strategy and partnership to get SAF supply and use and education out there so folks can begin to have informed dialogue. I came to Massport and talk about SAF a lot. You leave the four walls of Massport, and the average person walking down the street might have some working knowledge, but there is a lot we can share about what sustainable aviation fuels are, grounded in conversations and educated research. The SAF Hub has done a phenomenal job placing Logan in a lot of those conversations. It was one of the things that resulted from a cross-agency report we released shortly after I joined Massport, which talked about how do we grow a SAF ecosystem, including some policy frameworks, some regional alliances. There are conversations about tax incentives. Other states have tried, and it has worked for them. We are seeing some real movement. We are in the stage of figuring out how do we bring SAF to New England. What does that look like? Let us understand how others are thriving but also being challenged. You are right about Europe. They are further along in the conversation about SAF and their requirements. It is good in that it is sending strong policy signals that can scale our market. The U.S. approach is more incentive-based and market-driven, which means efforts like the SAF Hub are key in getting that momentum coordinated. Airplanes do not stop halfway when they are crossing the pond. Things that are happening in Europe in terms of SAF conversations are going to make their way here. We are excited to be in the middle of that dialogue through the SAF Hub. The chicken-or-egg relationship you described is accurate.

Galen Nelson
How does that work? My understanding is that it is an incremental SAF mandate in the EU, gradually increasing the percentage of SAFs that must be used. Is that relative only to flights within EU airspace? What happens when aircraft are moving between continents? Are they no longer subject to the SAF mandate? How does this all work?

Jill Valdes Horwood
I knew you were going to ask me a super detailed question that I was going to have to say my colleague Flavio is the perfect person to ask this question.

Galen Nelson
Flavio, okay.

Jill Valdes Horwood
Flavio is our fearless leader in the SAF Hub. He has been doing this work for a very long time. I am happy to offer more detail through Flavio. I do not want to put out there and have someone say Jill did not get this quite right. If folks are really interested, I am happy to offer some of that.

Galen Nelson
Maybe I will pivot to something else related. Are we talking about the need for federal action here? We are seeing a massive retreat in energy transition and climate leadership at the federal level. Many aircraft flights are interstate commerce, across state lines. It seems like an appropriate area for federal intervention and leadership. In the absence of that, you mentioned state-level tax credits. Is that how you see this moving forward, at least in the short term, state-level inducements to encourage SAF adoption?

Jill Valdes Horwood
It is an understatement to say it is a tense moment. What we are seeing, and it is not just about SAF, this is across the board when you are thinking about policies and strategies. There are federal provisions, tax credits for producers of SAF, dollars per gallon that can help make SAF more cost-competitive with conventional jet fuel. That has been a meaningful piece of federal action. Not to discredit that at all. One thing we are going to have to lean heavier on is what we are doing regionally and at the state level. That seems to be a more concrete, near-term look or pivot in the absence of larger incentives. We have seen some state policies. Illinois has been at the forefront. Minnesota as well. They have passed some SAF tax credits, airline incentives. That is helping to stimulate the conversation. It is an indicator that state-level actions can shift behavior. In a situation where federal policy might still be maturing, that becomes an important component of continuing forward progress. I say that for SAF, but I think it applies across all policy conversations currently.

Galen Nelson
That is helpful. It is worth noting for some folks joining today that there are a number of Massachusetts-based innovators working on SAF solutions, spinning out of our academic institutions. MassCEC has supported a number of those companies and technologies. It is a great opportunity to decarbonize aviation and a strong suit among many within the climate tech industry here in Mass.

Jill Valdes Horwood
Absolutely. Boston is an exciting place for especially those conversations, and Massachusetts at large. Our education economy is so phenomenal that in our own backyard we can tap into a handful of folks that are thinking about climate tech and the next gen. It is a good place to be.

Galen Nelson
Let us switch over to another emissions source that maybe a lot of people think about just because so many people come and go from Logan, the emissions associated with passengers. I assume a smaller percentage related to Massport employees. That includes all different modes: MBTA, maybe the Silver Line, maybe one of the boats, private vehicles, Uber or Lyft. What has Massport done to encourage electrification of those modes of transportation?

Jill Valdes Horwood
Those that know me know I have a long commute to work every day. I am a big fan of the T, the commuter rail. I have explored all different options. I have done combos of the ferry and walking, the Silver Line. It is a testament to the energy at Massport. We want to encourage folks to use different modes of transportation. A lot of people still drive. We get that. A lot of people take taxis or rideshares. We are actively working on incentives and ways to get folks to think differently about how they get to Logan. It is no surprise. Folks will see the numbers. We had another record-breaking number of passengers in 2025, which means a lot of people moving through the airport roadways every day. One thing we want to think about is how do we get these folks and incentivize them to get out of single occupancy and do larger modes, helping us reduce emissions by not doing solo road trips. We have invested in electric vehicle infrastructure at Logan. On the airside, we have close to 380 Level 3 fast chargers. On the landside, we have about 130, with a dozen of those being fast chargers. Those are not just for staff and operations. They are available. We want to incentivize folks to use them. We are always thinking about how do we support alternatives to single occupancy. One thing I used recently, and I started sharing with folks, is the Back Bay Logan Express. It is phenomenal. When I have meetings on that side of town, for \$3 you can hop on the Back Bay Express and get to the airport. We recently cut travel time by 30% by figuring out a new route. You have the added benefit of not driving, not sitting in Boston traffic. You are helping us reduce emissions. You get a bonus because you get to skip the line at TSA. You get bumped up to the front of the line. Just a little tip for folks.

Galen Nelson
I am sold. I am going to do that next time.

Jill Valdes Horwood
These are the types of incentives we want to share with folks because we want more folks to think about alternatives. Most folks know the Silver Line is completely free from the airport. Another phenomenal way to get from the airport into the city. We are excited later this year to roll out a remote terminal concept. It is not just creating efficiency in our operations. You get to skip TSA and go straight to the sterile side of the airport. It is another option for passengers to get to Massport. You will experience a little bit of a mini airport remote terminal concept. It is thinking outside the proverbial box. We cannot force people to get out of their cars, but we want to encourage them and create options where they feel they are also part of helping reduce emissions. We want to give them real choices that will get them here reliably and on time. We are constantly thinking about how to deploy those and make them accessible to folks.

Galen Nelson
MassCEC was proud to support some EV charging infrastructure several years ago under our Accelerating Clean Transportation for All program. It was a great partnership. You talked about storage, and now you have electric vehicle charging infrastructure for passengers. I assume a lot of that is in the central parking terminal. Is it elsewhere?

Jill Valdes Horwood
We have different areas on the landside. We want to incentivize folks there, so that is where I concentrated our attention.

Galen Nelson
We need a lot more load flexibility going forward on our energy system. Have you contemplated smart chargers so that passengers can leave their vehicles there for a 3, 5, 7-day trip, and those vehicles become grid assets and are compensated, or Massport is compensated, or some combination?

Jill Valdes Horwood
Are you sitting in on our meetings and I do not know it?

Galen Nelson
I just have good instincts.

Jill Valdes Horwood
We have a phenomenal team in capital programs led by Peter DeBruen. They have been thinking about this and are constantly in conversation about how we can be more strategic and thoughtful about rolling that out. We are having conversations. Just because you do not see us talking about it does not mean we are not actively thinking and having conversations about how to move something forward. They have been intentional about looking at demand studies and figuring out where it makes sense, how to move this policy forward in a way that incentivizes but also balances bringing things over to the electrification side, knowing we are going to put more demand on the grid. It is balancing that progress. It is not an overnight flip. We do not want to be left without a solution that makes practical, real-world sense today.

Galen Nelson
I am looking at the time. We have interesting questions. I am going to pose a few to you.

Jill Valdes Horwood
Okay.

Galen Nelson
You are aware of BERDO. Are Massport buildings subject to BERDO? Is that a conversation?

Jill Valdes Horwood
We are not. It is voluntary. That is a conversation. I would be remiss if I did not call out our wonderful real estate team that does a phenomenal job working with the city on the BERDO conversation. That knowledge is outside of my department. From being in conversations, I know that is one of those active things happening behind the scenes. We are certainly coordinating.

Galen Nelson
For the uninitiated listening from outside the Boston area, BERDO is not a cartoon character. It is the city\'s existing building emissions ordinance.

Jill Valdes Horwood
I know our tenants are forward-thinking and have been active in understanding the need to be more resilient, the need to be thinking about energy consumption in the next gen. There are conversations happening. Our tenants are great to work with.

Galen Nelson
A bit of an in-the-weeds question regarding SAFs. I know, for example, if you blend hydrogen into the natural gas system, you have to change the jets on boilers. What are the physical changes, if any, that the aircraft original equipment manufacturers need to make to aircraft so that those engines can work effectively with SAFs?

Jill Valdes Horwood
Here is my lawyer asterisk. I am not an engineer, although my parents wanted me to be. It is a drop-in. There is no change that needs to be made to the aircraft. That is why it is such an attractive option. There is not a whole lot that needs to be done on the back end for airlines. That is why Illinois was able to start deploying SAF in airlines using it right away. There is not a lot that needs to be done, or anything that needs to be done to the aircraft.

Galen Nelson
That is great.

Galen Nelson
We only have a couple more minutes. Because you mentioned it earlier, and I think it is also of interest, let us quickly discuss shore power at the Flynn Cruiseport. Cruise ships are enormous energy users. They are like floating hotels or small floating cities. One frequent criticism is that when they are at the pier, they are often burning pretty dirty fuel to maintain needed electricity on board. A better option is for them to be able to plug into so-called shore power, plug into the grid. That often requires major grid upgrades. Is there an update you can share on that project, that effort?

Jill Valdes Horwood
Absolutely. Cruises are essentially floating hotels. There is a lot that goes into powering the kitchens, ventilation, and laundry. When they are docked, it is a big operation. I think we used a cruise as a hotel in 2018 during the Merrimack Valley gas explosion. Columbia chartered a cruise to house all the extra workers. The analogy is not far off. You are right on the money. We are pursuing ship-to-shore power at Flynn. We have made that public as a real major investment. We have plans to install shore power at two of the areas with a target to have it in place by the end of the decade, 2029, not too far. The thing about being in this space in the moment is seeing the signals from the industry. They are heading in that way. There are places a little further along. We have done the homework and realized that 80% of the ships currently serving Boston can plug into shore power or use some kind of alternative low-carbon tech. It is a real potential solution in the near future. That is something we are excited to continue to explore. There are challenges. Shore power needs some serious electrical capacity. It is not like adding a few chargers will get us there. It can require real upgrades, new equipment, careful design. That is balancing seeing the signals from the industry and understanding the current challenges. We have to build while we are still operating. It goes back to Logan. You cannot shut it down and say when we come back in 2029 everything will be great. We have to phase things. There is safety planning, tight coordination with cruise schedules. Cruising is huge. It has grown a whole lot. We understand it is going to continue to grow as folks embrace the cruising industry. Not every ship is going to be equipped, but we certainly want to be ready for that moment.

Galen Nelson
I am sure everyone appreciated that update, particularly those of us who live in the Boston area.

Jill Valdes Horwood
Absolutely.

Galen Nelson
Thank you, Jill. This has been a fascinating conversation. I am glad we touched on this several times, underscoring the leadership. On a personal level, having lived in Boston for well over 20 years, I have seen the new build, but also the transition and all the efforts made at Massport. As someone who works in this space, you and I are both climate chiefs. We are always thinking about what is next, how can we push the envelope, and how can we continue to accelerate progress. I appreciate that you are there pushing forward on a lot of these areas where we still have opportunity for more progress. I really enjoyed the conversation. It has been great.

Jill Valdes Horwood
Me too. Thank you for the platform. If folks want to learn more, we could talk about electric ground service equipment and all these other things. If folks are interested, you can reach out directly to me. Our Massport website is a wealth of knowledge. I am sure you are going to follow up with your viewers who had questions. I am happy to follow up on that as well.

Galen Nelson
I also want to acknowledge my wonderful colleague, Shayla Brown-Petty, who helps produce Thoughtful Climate. If you do not want to miss future episodes, just jump on the MassCEC website. There is an opportunity to sign up there for a variety of our electronic communications. Thanks to everyone who tuned in today, and thanks again, Jill, for a great conversation. Enjoy the rest of your day.

Jill Valdes Horwood
Thanks so much, bye.

Galen Nelson
Bye, all.