Fuel cells will be used to partially power the towers

Energy efficiency is a priority at the rebuilt World Trade Center, and a major piece of the green-building plan was installed on site starting in late October: fuel cells. Six fuel cells -- each nearly as large as a shipping container -- are now in place to supply about 30 percent of the power to 3 and 4 WTC. The cells are considered more efficient than other power sources because they create electricity through chemical reactions rather than by burning substances. This results in primary byproducts of water and heat, thereby reducing carbon emissions. It also makes fuel cells more expensive and therefore less common in today’s skyscrapers.

However, both WTC developer Silverstein Properties and the Port Authority plan to use fuel cells to at least partly power all of the WTC towers -- part of their commitments to environmental safety, and allowing them to serve as large-scale examples of energy efficiency. 

"If we can demonstrate that fuel cells work, that they can be highly effective, that they can achieve energy-saving goals, we hope that other owners of buildings and office buildings will choose to adopt them in the future," said Janno Lieber, Silverstein’s president of WTC development.

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