New Whole Foods Market in San Jose to install UTC Power fuel cell

Store will be First Supermarket in California and Third Whole Foods Market to Generate Bulk of Power with Fuel Cell

UTC Power, a United Technologies Corp. company, hass announced that Whole Foods Market has chosen to power a new store in San Jose, Calif., with fuel cell power using a UTC Power Purecell system. This will be the third Whole Foods to install a fuel cell, the other stores are located in Dedham, Mass., and Glastonbury, Conn.

According to the press release, "The new Whole Foods Market, located at the south corner of Blossom Hill Road and Almaden Expressway in South San Jose, is now under construction and will cover approximately 50,000 square feet.  The UTC Power fuel cell system will generate 90 percent of the store’s electricity needs and its byproduct thermal energy will be used for store heating, cooling and refrigeration for an overall efficiency of approximately 60 percent, nearly twice the efficiency of the U.S. electrical grid."

The emissions savings for the store are estimated at more than 370 metric tons of carbon dioxide annually – the equivalent of planting more than 85 acres of trees. In addition, the reductions in NOx emissions compared to a conventional power plant are equal to the environmental benefit of removing 92 cars from the road.

Source: Fuel Cell Today