Pepperidge Farm Installs Fuel Cell

Pepperidge Farm is installing a 1.2 MW fuel cell at Pepperidge Farm’s Bloomfield, CT, bakery. The initiative is being supported by the Connecticut Clean Energy Fund (CCEF), a ratepayer fund administered by Connecticut Innovations, which will provide $3.5 million of the cost. The 1.2 megawatt fuel cell will be manufactured by FuelCell Energy.

This is the second fuel cell installation at the 260,000-square-foot Pepperidge Farm Bloomfield plant, which opened in 2003. A smaller, 250-kilowatt fuel cell was installed in January 2006, also with assistance from CCEF and FuelCell Energy. Once operational in summer 2008, the new fuel cell will supply about 57 percent of the total electrical needs for the bakery. The two fuel cells combined will provide about 70 percent of the required electricity. Excess heat from the new fuel cell will be channeled to support bakery processes, which will help reduce fuel needed for plant boilers.