Price Chopper Supermarket is installing a UTC Power fuel cell to generate light, heat and water for one of its new stores in upstate New York.
The 400-kilowatt fuel cell will power Price Chopper’s new 69,000-square-foot Colonie store location, said Benny Smith, facilities vice president for Golub Corp., the chain’s parent.
Twelve of the same capacity cells will be installed at the completed World Trade Center site in New York City, officials said.
Fuel cells are ideal power supplies for supermarkets, said UTC Power spokeswoman Peg Hashem. Aside from the electricity, the fuel cell’s thermal energy is used for store heating and cooling, she said.
Whole Foods Market in Glastonbury has a smaller, 200-kilowatt version, Hashem said. Whole Foods’ location in Dedham, Mass., and Star Market in Chestnut Hill, Mass., have the 400-kilowatt units.
Family-run Golub, based in Schenectady, N.Y., operates Price Chopper supermarkets and Mini Chopper convenience stores in Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, Pennsylvania and Vermont.
