VHB helps Stop & Shop open Green Energy Facility

Watertown, Mass. — Stop & Shop recently celebrated the opening of its Green Energy Facility in Freetown, Mass. VHB assisted the Stop & Shop team through the air emissions permitting process with the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP) under an expedited schedule, cutting the permitting time in half. VHB also secured local permits through the Planning Board and Conservation Commission. This was the first permitting of an anaerobic digester project of this kind in Massachusetts.

The state-of-the-art, 12,000-square-foot facility houses an anaerobic digester, which will convert inedible food from Stop & Shop’s 212 New England stores into energy that will help power its distribution center. The facility is expected to process an average of 95 tons of inedible food per day and will produce enough energy to power 40 percent of the 1.1 million-square-foot distribution center's energy needs.

As part of the permitting process, VHB conducted an air quality analysis to demonstrate compliance with the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) and a noise analysis to demonstrate compliance with MassDEP regulations. VHB also prepared site/civil construction documents and provided construction administration services in support of this important project.