Ribbon cutting for new biomass boiler held Friday

TOWNSEND — Linda McCulloch, superintendent of the Office of Public Instruction, and Mary Sexton, director of the Department of Natural Resources and Conservation, were among a host of state officials at Townsend School’s celebration of its new biomass boiler Friday afternoon.

The biomass heating system is one of five operating in Montana public schools.

Three other boilers are in various states of construction in the state.

“Townsend School is the first school under Fuels for Schools and Beyond to sell carbon dioxide CO2 emission offsets,” said DNRC Fuels for Schools Program Coordinator, Angela Farr.

“The school is selling over 130 tons per year of CO2 emission offsets gained from replacing their fossil fuels usage for the next 15 years,” she said.

The district receives $12,420 in offset funding from The Climate Trust, she said.

The Climate Trust is a nonprofit organization in Portland that promotes climate change solutions by providing carbon dioxide offset projects and advancing offset policies, said Farr.

Townsend is also the first school district to burn wood pellets in its new biomass heating system, Farr said.

The wood pellets are “all-tree” pellets from Eureka Pellet Mills. The pellets are made of materials from logging residues that would otherwise likely have been destined for piling and burning, thereby emitting additional CO2, said Farr.

Burning wood pellets is “carbon neutral” because as CO2 is released from the combustion of wood, growing trees absorb that CO2, so there is no net gain of CO2 in the atmosphere, Farr said.

In comparison, burning fossil fuels releases sequestered CO2 in the atmosphere, creating a carbon imbalance which contributes to global warming, she said.

Townsend Schools are expected to use approximately 250 tons of pellets annually, saving around $19,000 per year in heating costs.

Over the 30-year life of the system, the district’s savings are expected to exceed $1 million, according to Townsend Schools Superintendent Brian Patrick.

The project was funded by the DNRC, the U.S. Forest Service-Northern Region, the USDA Rural Development Program and the Headwaters Resource Conservation and Development Area.

The Fuels for Schools program provided $190,000 for the project.

For more information about Montana Fuels for Schools and Beyond, visit www.fuelsforschools.org or contact Farr at 406-542-4239.

A FEW FACTS

The two converted boilers at Townsend Schools will burn about 250 tons of wood pellets per year, replacing about 12,600 gallons of fuel oil and 18,000 gallons of propane.

Eureka Pellet Mills is producing all-tree pellets for the school, made from at least 50 percent logging residue; this is a new product for Eureka.

Financial assistance to convert to biomass boilers included the following grants:

n $190,080 from Fuels for Schools;

n $30,000 from USDA Rural Development, and

n $15,000 from Broadwater Conservation District.

Other funding included:

n $12,420 from The Climate Trust to purchase and retire 15 years of carbon dioxide offsets from the school;

n a $140,000 low interest loan from USDA Rural Development; and

n contributions from Townsend Schools of $46,412 and $9,010 worth of in-kind work on the project.

Savings on heating fuel will more than cover loan payments on the system over the next 10 years, and are expected to exceed $1 million over its 30-year life.