Produce Center to Install All-Electric Trailer Refrigeration Units

The New England Produce Center in Chelsea, Mass., will install 79 Carrier Transicold Vector 5100 all-electric trailer refrigeration units, which will replace diesel-powered units that previously ran.

The move is supported in part by a $1.9 million grant from the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act's (ARRA) National Clean Diesel Funding Assistance Program, announced Wednesday at the produce center.

The Vector 5100 units, one of which was showcased at the event, provide emissions-free, quiet operation for on-site food storage. The use of the 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, with 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, which can save the produce market approximately $500,000 a year.

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 solution for food distribution operations that use refrigerated trailers for on-site cold storage. The units are powered with the electrical grid, rather than using a diesel engine. As an all-electric refrigeration system, the Vector 5100 has fewer moving parts compared to conventional diesel engine, so it's quieter and easier to maintain, the company says.

"We applaud the Chelsea Collaborative and the New England Produce Center for taking advantage of ARRA stimulus funds to retrofit the all-electric Vector 5100 system for stationary trailer refrigeration," said John Mandyck, Carrier's vice president for sustainability and environmental strategies.