Group presents plan for heating plant

A sustainable and more economically viable solution to the question of how to heat our businesses and homes may be closer for the town than many residents would expect

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BRATTLEBORO -- A sustainable and more economically viable solution to the question of how to heat our businesses and homes may be closer for the town than many residents would expect.

In preparation for the release of a feasibility study in early November, Brattleboro Thermal Utility, Inc. hosted an informational session presented by the directors of the Biomass Energy Resource Center.

BERC, a nonprofit organization from Montpelier with an extensive track record of working with communities, schools, businesses, government agencies and colleges and universities in Vermont, is currently working on similar proposals in Montpelier, Randolph, Burlington and Middlebury as well as Brattleboro.

The directors laid out and explained a plan that would involve local landowners and loggers providing low-grade wood in an environmentally responsible way so that it can be turned into wood chips that would be used in a large-scale hot water heating system.

The proposed biomass heating plant would be similar to those used throughout Europe, but forestry practices and regulations would differ, said BERC representatives.

In the southern tier of Vermont, forests are growing at a faster rate than they are being harvested, said Adam Sherman, program director for BERC.

Many of the approximate 15 attendees expressed their concern for the environmental risks associated with harvesting more wood from southern Vermonts forests.

By using lighter equipment and leaving the top branches of trees, which are a valuable source of nutrients needed to replenish the earth, forests can be harvested in a sustainable way, Sherman said.
And the economic upside is notable, said Christopher Recchia, executive director of BERC. For the United States to reduce its dependence on oil would be hugely beneficial for the economy, he said, especially here in the Northeast, where the area accounts for more than 80 percent of the oil consumed for producing residential heat.

"$800 million a year in Vermont goes out for fossil fuel energy, and zero stays here," Recchia said.

He said that fossil fuel oil costs about $33 per one million BTU, and its cost is constantly changing.

Wood chips, on the other hand, cost about $8.80 for the same value of energy, less than natural gas, wood pellets and corn, and has a very stable value.

The heating system would focus on using biomass resources in the most efficient way possible, Recchia added. The best way to do that in a town like Brattleboro, he said, is to use the vast majority of the energy produced to heat residential, commercial and industrial buildings in the most densely populated areas of town -- like Putney Road, Canal Street or the downtown area.

"Its about getting the highest efficiency out of the forest resource," he explained. "It would be geared more toward the heat application, where you would get as much energy value as you can from it."

"You can produce a lot more heat than electricity," he added.

As a result, the biomass plant would be designed for the heat load it would need to handle, not the electricity load. Producing electricity, Rechhia said, wastes too much of the resources.

"If you can get a little bit of electricity out of the excess energy produced as a byproduct, then thats great, and you havent lost any efficiency," he said. The electricity would be sent to the national grid.

At the end of the information session, Greg Moschetti, of Dummerston, said he felt less nervous about the idea of using local biomass on a relatively large scale.

He said that he is enrolled in the "current use" state program that allows landowners to harvest wood from their forests and in return receive a break on their property taxes.

Moschetti said people who want to be in the program have to come up with an approved 10-year plan for the use of the land with their county forester.

The logging of Moschettis forest is regulated, but he pointed out that enrolling in the current use program is voluntary on the part of the landowners. Its his feeling that if there is a large market for wood to be used for biomass, some landowners might not be so careful.

"I came here with a real concern about the extent to which harvesting of low-grade wood would end up degrading the forest," he said.

"Still to some degree I have that concern," he said, "but I think these are good guys who have thought this through and are genuinely concerned about the health of the forest."

The project will continue to progress, said Michael Bosworth of the Brattleboro Thermal Utility.

The feasibility study will be presented to the Selectboard in early November, followed by an open meeting for the public on Nov. 19.

Additional Information

Web Site: http://www.reformer.com/localnews/ci_13665262

Category: Forestry>Biomass Energy

Region: Vermont

Ad Running: 11/3/2009-12/2/2011

Ad Posted: 11/1/2009 12:58:17 PM

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