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Schools, forests,
taxpayers all win with
Fuels for Schools
Removing diseased and small diameter trees, underbrush and residue from forests prevents wildfires, promotes forest health and frees up money for schools to spend on education. No, this isn't the Sesame Street game of "one of these things doesn't belong,"—it is Fuels for Schools, an innovative program sponsored by the U.S. Forest Service and state foresters in Idaho, Montana, Nevada, North Dakota and Utah. The program converts the mostly unmarketable byproducts of forest thinning and logging into lower-cost heat for schools and other public institutions. It also improves air quality, protects the urban-forest interface and creates economic value for a waste product. Montana embraces biomass burners"Fuels for Schools offers a great opportunity to jump-start the development of a dispersed energy market in Montana using what is typically a wasted byproduct of forest management," explained Angela Farr, who coordinates the program for the state's Department of Natural Resources and Conservation. The Darby School District in western Montana served as the pilot project for Fuels for Schools, replacing its fuel oil burner with a biomass burner in 2003. The system saves the school about $100,000 annually in heating costs. Three more schools have followed Darby, installing wood chip systems and cutting their operating costs by tens of thousands of dollars. Thompson Falls School, the most recently completed project, saved well over the projected $30,000 after paying the construction loan—enough to hire a new teacher. Another five projects are in the construction phase, including the University of Montana–Western Campus. The campus is replacing its natural gas system with a biomass burner that will burn 3,600 tons of wood chips annually to heat 470,000 sq. ft. The DNRC, which coordinates the program in Montana, recently awarded three more grants. One of those systems will be installed in a newly constructed school, one will replace a fuel and propane burner and another will replace a natural gas system. "The rising cost of natural gas and other fossil fuels has improved the economics for biomass burners," Farr noted, "especially because the cost of wood chips is generally much more stable." Once all 12 projects are completed, they will dispose of 12,800 tons of forest waste annually and save the schools a total of more than $750,000 in operating costs. Federal, community supportMontana's enthusiasm for the program is not surprising, since it originated in the Bitterroot Valley on the Montana-Idaho border in the wake of the disastrous 2000 wildfire season. "People were suddenly interested in hazard reduction logging at the wildland-urban interface," said Dave Atkins, Forest Service regional Fuels for Schools manager. That led to discussions about how to dispose of the material mitigation would produce. "At one public meeting, a resident suggested that a biomass heating system he had seen in Vermont might be a good way to get rid of the slash," Atkins recalled. "Using biomass heat to help schools was just a short step from there." The Forest Service launched Fuels for Schools in its five-state Northern and Intermountain regions in 2002. State foresters in each state conducted feasibility studies to find candidates for the program, and continue to administer Fuels for Schools locally. The National Fire Plan initially provided specific grant dollars under the Forest Service's Economic Action Programs for pilot projects. Montana still receives earmarked funds for its program, thanks largely to the support of Senator Conrad Burns, said Farr. Utilities have been supportive of Fuels for Schools as well, Farr added. DNRC gave a presentation to Montana Electric Cooperative Association on the program last year. MECA member Lincoln Electric Cooperative is helping Eureka Public Schools apply for a Rural Economic Development loan to help fund installation of a fully automated chip system. When a school is selected for a project, DNRC works with local Resource Conservation and Development Areas to provide technical assistance to help facility managers and administrators develop fuel supply contracts. The division also recently contracted with CTA Group, an architectural and engineering firm, to study boiler systems in the state and determine the market potential for biomass heat in Montana. Systems matched to facilitiesFactors that make for a successful conversion include the size of the school, its existing heating system, the cost of fuel and whether or not the project can piggyback on other renovations. "Installing the biomass burner during construction is the ideal," said Farr. "Also, the bigger the facility and the longer the operating hours, the more cost-effective the system is." That doesn't rule out smaller schools, however. "The limitations push us to come up with different solutions," said Atkins. "At Thompson Falls we installed a simpler, less expensive surge bin system." The program uses three different types of systems: the semi-automated surge bin, fully automated large conveyance and pellet boiler. The surge bin system has a smaller storage bin and shorter conveyance system, and requires some manpower to load the fuel. The Thompson Falls bin holds about five to six tons of fuel. Darby's system has a large conveyance system, which holds about two chip van loads or 50 to 60 tons of fuel. It cost more than $650,000, compared to the $455,000 price tag for the Thompson Falls project. Although DNRC installed large conveyance systems in the first three schools, Farr said that the smaller surge bins are usually more cost effective. Large, fully automated systems are appropriate for projects like the university campus. DNRC is currently working on a demonstration of pellet-burning units. This type of boiler burns a processed fuel that is more expensive than green chip fuel, but still much less than fuel oil. The system is generally most cost-effective where space for fuel storage and conveyance is limited, and the facility is located near a pellet manufacturer. Program future brightA fourth type of biomass burner is the combined heat and power system, which generates power from burning wood chips, with heat as the byproduct. "People are very interested in CHP, but smaller systems simply don't have the pressure needed to drive a steam turbine," said Atkins. That may change as Fuels for Schools moves beyond the schoolhouse. Central Montana Medical Center in Lewistown received a DNRC grant, and Atkins has a prison in Carson City, Nev., installing a one-MW heat and power system. "Large facilities with 24/7 operations may need high-pressure systems that could work for CHP," said Atkins. "Some universities and sawmills are generating power with biomass burners. But so far, for our purposes, heat is still the most valuable product." Any product that can make forests and communities safer, save tax dollars, create jobs and reduce energy dependence is valuable indeed. Vermont already has a state biomass heating program. Atkins has talked with people in Oregon, California, Michigan, Colorado, South Dakota, Washington and Alaska where there is interest in organizing similar efforts. Fuels for Schools and Beyond has turned two seemingly unrelated problems—disposing of waste from forest management and controlling operating costs in public institutions—into an answer that belongs to everyone. |
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