In late May, a 60,000-pound fuel cell nearly the size of a
freight car was hoisted onto the site of 360 State Street, a
mixed-use highrise under construction in downtown New Haven. The
400-kilowatt unit is the first large-scale fuel cell to power a
residential development anywhere in the world, according to the
building’s developer, and just might herald the next wave of
sustainably-powered design. The team explored several potential
sources of renewable energy before deciding on the fuel cell,
which uses oxygen and hydrogen to generate electricity and heat,
according to Bruce Becker, president of Connecticut-based Becker
+ Becker, both developer and architect on the project. The cell
will meet nearly 100 percent of the building’s electricity
demands, and its waste heat will become thermal energy to heat
the 700,000-square-foot building’s pool and domestic water
sources for 500 apartments. Installation of the cell on the
ground floor of the 32-story structure had only minor impacts
upon construction, includin