Edwards-Knox biomass boiler set to go

RUSSELL — Starting next week, Edwards-Knox Central School District plans to heat its building complex with wood chips instead of fuel oil, a groundbreaking step that may serve as a model for school districts throughout the region as they seek ways to save money and help the environment.

Following seven months of construction, the district's new biomass heating facility is ready for operation, Superintendent Suzanne L. Kelly said.

Edwards-Knox is only the second public school district in New York to heat with a biomass system, she said. The first started running last month at Hartford Central School District, Washington County.

"We were on track to be the first, but we had some delays," Miss Kelly said. "We are definitely the first in Northern New York. This really is groundbreaking."

School officials estimate that over the course of a year, the new biomass system could save the district between $125,000 and $150,000.

"This is a win-win situation," Miss Kelly said. "It will bring financial savings to the district, it's a clean system for the environment and hopefully, it requires less maintenance."

Located behind the school building complex, the facility houses a boiler that's capable of burning various materials, such as wood chips, wood pellets, switchgrass or dried corn kernels.

The energy generated by the burning is used to heat about 3,000 gallons of water to 180 degrees. The hot water then is pumped through an overhead metal piping system that connects to both the school building and the bus garage.

The circulating heating system will run seven days a week, 24 hours a day, according to Albert "John" Daniels Jr., the district's superintendent of buildings and grounds. Whenever the biomass system is not running, the existing fuel oil system will kick in, he said.

"Both systems are tied together," Mr. Daniels said.

The new facility can burn any herbaceous material that contains wood-type fibers.

"It's very versatile," Mr. Daniels said. "That means we can shop around for the least expensive material."

The facility also is environmentally efficient because the gases themselves are reburned, releasing minimal emissions, he said.

"When we reburn the gases, the efficiency improves from 65 percent to 75 percent," Mr. Daniels said.

The system includes two large metal silos constructed next to the building that houses the boiler. They will be used to store wood pellets and other material that will be used to produce energy.

District officials decided to start off with wood chips and awarded a purchase bid to a local supplier, Francis W. Sharpstene of B Sharpstene Trucking and Logging, town of Clare.

The district expects to purchase 250 tons of wood chips this year that will be delivered in loads ranging from 10 to 12 tons. Through a conveyer system, the wood chips will be moved onto a movable wooden floor system that automatically loads them into the boiler.

"No one has to be there to fill the wood into the boiler," Mr. Daniels said. "Once a day we'll make a routine check on the boiler, like we would any boiler system."

The biomass facility was a major component of a $4.5 million capital project that also includes installation of a 90-foot-high wind tower, solar panels and other upgrades inside the building complex including a new telephone system. New roofs were installed earlier. The capital project, approved by voters last spring, was fully funded by the state through both state aid and EXCEL aid awarded to the district three years ago.

The entire system will be used as a learning tool to teach students about alternative sources of energy, Mr. Daniels said.