Stop & Shop's Green Energy Facility Recognized With A Design-Build Award

Freetown, Massachusetts – Stop & Shop’s innovative new green energy facility which converts food waste into clean energy at the Freetown, Massachusetts distribution center received an honorable mention at the 2018 New England Design-Build Awards.

The Design-Build Institute of America’s New England chapter annually recognizes regional projects that demonstrate excellence in effectively integrating design and construction services to produce high value outcomes for the owners.

To meet their goal of achieving zero waste by 2020, Stop & Shop decided to build an anaerobic digester at their distribution facility to dispose of unusable food waste unsuitable for donation. Stop & Shop teamed with the Springfield, Massachusetts-based design-build firm, Dennis Group, to help realize this vision. The digester breaks down food waste within 24 hours into biogas, a green energy source which then powers the adjacent 1.1 MM SF distribution center. Leftover organic material is recycled into fertilizer and compost.

Unlike other digesters which process a material that is already liquified, Stop & Shop’s had to be able to handle packaging materials as well as food. Close collaboration among Stop & Shop, Dennis Group and Divert, the operator of the digester, was required to solve this engineering challenge. The digester went from concept to completion in less than 18 months.

We collectively are very proud of this project,” says Dennis Group project manager, Mary Frances Stotler. “Our core team, consisting of Stop & Shop, Dennis Group, and Divert members, was together from the initial planning stages all the way through commissioning the facility. Our success showcases how utilizing design-build methodology often yields exceptional outcomes.”

Celebrating its thirtieth anniversary, Dennis Group is the largest food design firm in the United States. The company recently bolstered its expansion efforts with the opening of a new office in São Paulo, Brazil, and Porto, Portugal, which will cater to the growing South American and European markets.

About Dennis Group

Dennis Group is the premier planning, design, process engineering and construction management firm exclusively servicing the food and beverage industry. For 30 years, the company has delivered business-driven, process-centric solutions for both small- to medium-sized food processors as well as most of the top 100 largest food companies in the United States. Complex, fast-track design-build projects are a specialty. Headquartered in Springfield, Massachusetts, Dennis Group executes projects worldwide with an in-house team of seasoned professionals based out of six offices located throughout the United States, Brazil, Portugal and Canada. 

Source: Dennis Group