The Alumni Magazine for Worcester Polytechnic Institute. (WPI)
Issue link: http://wpialumnimag.epubxp.com/i/65892
OUT OF THE FRYING PAN With falafel, chicken cordon bleu, and other delicacies sizzling 'round the clock in the Whole Foods kitchen, reusing cooking oil as fuel is a natural. This spring another of Loftus's "crazy ideas" became a sustainable reality, when the nation's first on-site waste vegetable oil–powered electricity generation system was switched on at the Whole Foods Markets regional commissary in Everett, Mass., taking the entire 45,000-square-foot building off the power grid. The modified diesel generator, designed and installed by Life- cycle Renewables of Marblehead, Mass., is connected into the commissary's electric distribution system and operates in parallel with National Grid's utility lines. The installation is currently oper- ating at a continuous output of 250 kW. "Based on past electrical demand of the commissary, that will provide nearly 100 percent of our needs," says Loftus. "For efficiency purposes we have en- abled the generator to 'load follow,' meaning that the generator will follow the load of the building so that we are always making efficient use of even low-demand days, like Sundays." In a typical week, the commissary uses more than 1,200 gal- lons of canola oil per week to produce 240,000 pounds of pre- pared foods and other products for the North Atlantic and North- east Regions. Oil from 28 stores is also collected and refined for use in the generator. "Their waste is now their energy," says Lifecycle Renewables CEO Rory Gaunt. "This renewable energy installation is the first of its kind in Massachusetts, and to our knowledge a first in the USA." By putting "yellow grease" back to work, Whole Foods also gains economic stability and increased financial return. Loftus compares the commissary's annual savings of two mil- lion kW-hour to the energy usage of 200 average households. After years of hard work, she's gratified to watch delicious food being cooked up so cleanly. From lighting to heating and cooling, Loftus looks for alternative solutions to conserving efficiency. 24 Spring 2012