The air around the nation’s second-largest produce market, the New England Produce Center in Chelsea MA, is about to get cleaner thanks to the installation of 79 Carrier Transicold Vector 5100 all-electric trailer refrigeration units, which will replace diesel-powered units that previously ran 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
The project is supported in part through a $1.9 million grant to the Chelsea Collaborative from the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act’s (ARRA) National Clean Diesel Funding Assistance Program. Vector 5100 units, one of which was showcased at the event, provide emissions-free, quiet operation for on-site food storage.
For the New England Produce Center, the use of Vector 5100 units is expected to remove more than 300 tons of air pollutants annually. Chelsea, located along the Mystic River across from Boston, has been identified as the third most environmentally overburdened city in Massachusetts. It has some of the state’s highest reported incidences of respiratory ailments, cardiovascular disease, strokes, and cancers related to diesel engine exhaust pollution.
The Vector 5100 units are also expected to help eliminate the annual consumption of more than 480,000 gallons of diesel fuel. This will help save the produce market approximately $500,000 a year because the cost of operating trailer refrigeration units using the electric power grid, with its relatively stable pricing, is more economical than using diesel fuel.
Requiring a 460-volt electrical power supply, the Vector 5100 unit was introduced this summer by Carrier Transicold to provide an environmentally responsive and energy-efficient system for food distribution operations that use refrigerated trailers for on-site cold storage. The greatest benefit is the ability to power the units with the electrical grid rather than using a diesel engine. As an all-electric system, the Vector 5100 has fewer moving parts, resulting in quieter operation and reduced maintenance and operational downtime.
Visit www.carrier.com for more information.
