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 (4600 m2).
The 400 kW fuel cell system from UTC Power 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 US electrical grid.
This is the third Whole Foods Market to install a PureCell® phosphoric acid fuel cell system provided by Connecticut-based UTC Power. The other stores are in Dedham, Massachusetts and Glastonbury, Connecticut.
‘Businesses that need reliable power around-the-clock and that can use the fuel cell’s thermal energy are well suited for fuel cells,’ says Neal Montany, director of the stationary fuel cell business at UTC Power.