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Albertsons Store Deemed Highly Sustainable

CLAIREMONT, Calif. — The Association for Retail Environments recently presented its 2011 “Sustainable Project of the Year” award to an Albertsons store here, part of Minneapolis-based Supervalu.

CLAIREMONT, Calif. — The Association for Retail Environments recently presented its 2011 “Sustainable Project of the Year” award to an Albertsons store here, part of Minneapolis-based Supervalu.

The 55,000-square-foot store, opened last September, received the honor for its “clearly defined integrated design approach, high benchmarking goals and waste reduction features.”

Among the store’s environmental features:

• On-site co-generation fuel-cell-powering system, with nearly 90% of the store’s electricity powered by a 400-kilowatt fuel cell from UTC Power, South Windsor, Conn.

• Highly efficient LED lighting in the dairy and frozen food cases that reduce energy consumption by more than 50% to 65%.

• Photo sensors in 33 skylights that measure the amount of daylight and adjust the electric light levels accordingly.

• Night curtains that are pulled over all open cold cases in the evening to seal in cool air and reduce spoilage and energy costs by up to 25%.

• Water-saving faucets and fixtures installed in the restrooms to reduce the amount of water used by more than 45%.

• Glycol secondary refrigeration system to minimize refrigerant change, achieving Greenchill Gold certification from Environmental Protection Agency.

• An aggressive recycling program in lieu of trash compactors.

“From its inception, the goal was to provide our Clairemont customers with a redesigned store format that not only expanded our service departments but afforded them a shopping environment where our carbon footprint was minimized from floor to ceiling,” said Albertsons Southern California Division President Sue Klug, in a statement.