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Pepperidge Farm returns to fuel cells for energy
(Stamford Advocate, The (Stamford, CT) (KRT) Via Thomson Dialog NewsEdge) Aug. 22--Encouraged by the benefits reaped from a fuel cell installed at its Bloomfield bakery in January 2006, Norwalk-based Pepperidge Farm Inc. has opted to install a second, larger unit at the facility.
Partnering with the Connecticut Clean Energy Fund and Danbury-based FuelCell Energy Inc., the maker of Goldfish crackers and Double Chocolate Milano cookies, will install a 1.2-megawatt fuel cell to augment a 250-kilowatt unit that has supplied about 13 percent of the facility's electricity.
Combined, the two fuel cells will fill 70 percent of the bakery's electrical demand when the installation is completed next summer. Excess heat from the new fuel cell will be channeled to support the bakery's production, helping reduce the fuel needed for boilers at the plant.
The Connecticut Clean Energy Fund, administered by Connecticut Innovations Inc., will provide $3.5 million of the cost for FuelCell Energy, which has its manufacturing plant in Torrington, to manufacture and install the fuel cell.
The first fuel cell at the Bloomfield facility also was installed with assistance from the Connecticut Clean Energy Fund and FuelCell Energy.
"Pepperidge Farm is making excellent use of all the attributes of the fuel cell," said Lise Dondy, president of the Connecticut Clean Energy Fund. "Not only are they deriving a significant portion of their required electricity from this fuel cell, but they are also effectively utilizing the fuel cell's thermal output to enjoy the added benefit of being able to operate with less dependence on the grid."
The fuel cells will operate 24 hours a day, seven days a week, said Richard Shaw, FuelCell's director of business development. They have a life span of 20 to 25 years.
The Pepperidge Farm project is the largest use of fuel cells in the state.
"Pepperidge Farm stands to reduce its power costs while lowering emissions and increasing manufacturing reliability," Shaw said, estimating the cost of construction and installation at $5.9 million.
The project shows Pepperidge Farm's economic and environmental commitment to the state, said Robert Furbee, Pepperidge Farm senior vice president of operations.
"It is not only a great business initiative, but also a great partnership among Connecticut entities committed to pursuing clean, alternative energy sources for the state -- Pepperidge Farm, the Connecticut Clean Energy Fund and FuelCell Energy Inc."
Shaw declined to comment on the payback period for the fuel cells, but said companies are buying them because they make long-term economic and environmental sense.
FuelCell Energy employs nearly 350, Shaw said, and he is hopeful that the contract with Pepperidge Farm, a unit of Campbell Soup, will lead other contracts with the parent company's facilities.
The Bloomfield bakery opened in 2003, replacing a facility in Norwalk.
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Copyright (c) 2007, The Stamford Advocate, Conn.
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