Gowanus Whole Foods Will Feature 'Green' Refrigeration System

The Gowanus Whole Foods store currently being built on Third Avenue will be one of the first in the U.S. to utilize a "transcritical refrigeration system that uses only carbon dioxide as its refrigerant," according to Supermarket News.

Tristam Coffin, energy and maintenance project manager for Whole Foods’ Northern California region, referenced the store in a web presentation hosted by the Environmental Protection Agency’s GreenChill program that addressed the Green Globes building certification program, stated the article.

According to a representative of the GreenChill program, transcritical refrigeration systems "dramatically reduce the global warming impact of refrigerant leaks, compared to leaks from conventional systems that use synthetic refrigerants."

The news comes at the same time that local blogs have raised ecological concerns about the location of Brooklyn's future Whole Foods building relevant to the polluted Gowanus Canal, a Superfund site.

"The proximity to the canal could be cause for concern, especially considering that the entire site flooded during Hurricane Sandy—and we can't forget that Red Hook's Fairway supermarket was closed for four months because of storm damage," wrote Curbed.

Local resident Martin Bisi has also been very vocal in the press and at community meetings, questioning whether recent pile driving through the soil cap would affect remediation efforts.

But in a previous interview with Patch, Whole Foods spokesperson Michael Sinatra stated that the Whole Foods construction plans were determined to have no impact on the canal.

Stay with Patch for updates.