Hilton NYC installs fuel cell power. Saturday, 9th June 2007 Source : Hilton Hotels Corporation

Quiet fuel cell will reduce nitrogen oxide emissions equivalent to removal of 145 cars, from the street each.

Hilton New York, a prime 1,980-room property of Hilton Hotels Corporation in New York City, has completed the rigging of a PureCell(TM) 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. 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."