Hilton New York Installs UTC Power Commercial Fuel Cell Power System to Help Improve Environment, Enhance Hotel Operations
Virtually Pollution-Free, Quiet Fuel Cell Will Reduce Nitrogen Oxide Emissions Equivalent to Removal of 145 Cars from the Street Each Year of Use
NEW YORK & BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. | Hilton New York, a prime 1,980-room property of Hilton Hotels Corporation (HHC) in New York City, has completed the rigging of a PureCell™ Model 200 Commercial fuel cell power system, one of the cleanest power generating technologies available today. Nearly three times more energy efficient than the electric grid when used in combined heat and power applications, the fuel cell will operate without combustion to continuously provide power and domestic hot water for hotel operations.
Hilton New York installed the PureCell system on May 20, 2007, as part of Hilton Hotels Corporation green programs on a global level – and in keeping with New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s broad plan to reduce air pollution in the city as a model and the Clinton Foundation’s recently announced C40 plan, with New York City designated as one of the 16 U.S. cities included.
Hilton has been working for several years with UTC Power on integration options for fuel cells and combined cooling, heating and power systems to reduce greenhouse emissions and utilize energy more efficiently while providing back up power on an assured 24/7 basis to the hotel.
"With a global vision to be the first choice of the world’s travelers, we at Hilton Hotels Corporation are concentrating on eco-friendly initiatives that our Hilton Family of Hotels can adopt to help improve and sustain the environment for future generations of travelers,” says George Neeson, vice president of engineering & housekeeping for Hilton Hotels Corporation.
“The fuel cell at the Hilton New York is one of the more significant ways we can have an impact on energy consumption in one of the largest cities in the world.”
Fueled by natural gas, the fuel cell is an electrochemical device that combines hydrogen fuel and oxygen from the air to produce electricity, heat and water. In addition, the PureCell system delivers power security and reliability. More than $90 billion is lost each year in the United States alone as the result of power outages. The fuel cell system at the Hilton New York will operate even if the power grid goes down, ensuring the hotel will enjoy continuous operations of many of its primary systems. Further, for every year the hotel employs the fuel cell, it will reduce nitrogen oxide emissions equivalent to the removal of 145 cars from the street and create the same environmental benefits as planting 160 acres of forest.
Manufactured by UTC Power, a United Technologies Corp. (NYSE:UTX) company headquartered in South Windsor, Conn., the PureCell 200 power system weighs 40,000 pounds. It was delivered to the hotel by oversize-load flatbed truck, then hoisted and rigged to the fifth floor roof.
“We’re delighted to have a key role in helping Hilton New York address its environmental and energy needs,” said UTC Power President Jan van Dokkum. “For clean on-site power generation, the UTC Power PureCell system is the proven world leader in long-term fuel cell reliability and durability. Earlier this year, our stationary fuel cell fleet attained a major milestone: 8 million hours of operation.”
For further information or interviews about the Hilton New York hotel and/or its fuel cell, please contact Lisa Hanock-Jasie, director of communications, US Northeast Region, Hilton Hotels Corporation, at 212.261.5836, or email [email protected]
To learn more about UTC Power fuel cell technology, please call Peg Hashem, UTC Power, at 860.727.2093.
About UTC Power | United Technologies Corp., based in Hartford, Conn., provides high-technology products and services to the building and aerospace industries. Its UTC Power unit, based in South Windsor, Conn., is a full-service provider of environmentally advanced power solutions. With nearly 50 years of experience, UTC Power is a world leader in developing and producing fuel cells for on-site power, transportation, space and defense applications, and a developer of innovative combined cooling, heating and power systems for the distributed energy market.
About Hilton Family of Hotels | Hilton Hotels Corporation (NYSE:HLT) is the leading global hospitality company, with more than 2,800 hotels and 500,000 rooms in 78 countries and territories, including 105,000 team members worldwide.
The company owns, manages or franchises a hotel portfolio of some of the best known and highly regarded brands, including Hilton®, Conrad®, Doubletree®, Embassy Suites Hotels®, Hampton Inn®, Hampton Inn & Suites®, Hilton Garden Inn®, Hilton Grand Vacations™, Homewood Suites by Hilton® and The Waldorf=Astoria Collection®.
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Kathy Shepard
310-205-7676
Hilton
