Fresh & Easy opens store with eco-friendly CO2 refrigeration system

El Segundo, Calif. Fresh & Easy Neighborhood Market on Wednesday opened the first grocery store in Southern California to use naturally occurring carbon dioxide (CO2) refrigeration. The store, located in Rosemead, Calif., is Fresh & Easy’s first to be GreenChill certified.

Fresh & Easy’s sub critical cascade CO2 refrigeration system, which is one of only four in the United States, reduces the impact of the store’s refrigeration on the ozone layer by about 70%, as compared with industry standards. By utilizing a natural refrigerant, the system has an approximately 50% lower global warming potential than traditional refrigerants.

Fresh & Easy’s partners on the project included Kysor/Warren, Columbus, Ga., the equipment manufacturer and designer of the system, and Source Refrigeration & HVAC, Anaheim, Calif., which handled store specific engineering and installation. Verisae, Minn., provided the energy management system controlling the system and its software will be used to help Fresh & Easy track energy use and operating costs.

The store also earned a silver certification award from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) GreenChill Partnership by meeting tough benchmarks for cutting emissions that harm the earth’s protective ozone layer and contribute to global warming. Fewer than 40 of the nation’s 35,000 grocery stores have received GreenChill Store Certification awards.