Businesses, Institutions Join Biomass Fuels Study
(Boulder, Colo.) – Two major businesses, a religious center, a school and an education center are teaming up with Boulder County to research the feasibility of using woody biomass – including wood material from mountain pine beetle kill – as a sustainable fuel source.
Boulder County recently received a $39,000 biomass utilization grant from the Governor’s Energy Office (GEO) to identify local industrial, institutional, or business organizations within the community interested in exploring biomass as a source to heat their facilities. The funds were awarded to GEO through the U.S. Department of Energy under the “Colorado Biomass Market Transformation” grant. Boulder County is matching the grant with in-kind support of $26,000.
Five businesses and institutions were selected to participate in the project. Alexander Dawson School (Lafayette), Cal-Wood Education Center (Jamestown), Celestial Seasonings (Boulder), ConocoPhillips (Louisville), and Saint Malo Catholic Retreat Center (Allenspark), will participate in case studies that will examine the feasibility of wood biomass heating for their facility site or location. The project is funded by GEO, with support from each of the organizations and Boulder County.
“The Governor’s Energy Office supports local woody biomass projects that allow communities to address pine beetle kill issues while displacing fossil fuels for heating. These projects build healthier communities through sustainable and renewable energy projects,” said Stacey Simms, Biofuels and Local Fuels Program Manager for the Governor’s Energy Office.
Biomass heating systems provide a clean-burning use for biomass that might otherwise be burned in slash piles, chipped on the forest floor, or worse, burn in a forest fire. Most modern biomass heating units meet Federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) air quality standards and operate efficiently, generating just a small amount of ash, which can be used as a soil amendment. On a net basis, from its planting through its use for fuel, biomass produces fewer harmful emissions than from a fossil fuels plant.
“Biomass is one possible solution identified in the Boulder County Consortium of Cities Sustainable Energy Plan, which provides an action plan to reduce countywide emissions and our dependence on fossil fuels,” said Ann Livingston, Boulder County Sustainability Coordinator. “This project will help identify the barriers to entry to biomass utilization in today’s market, and will help determine if locally derived biomass fuels are a viable long-term source for heating for not just public institutions, but other types of facilities as well.”
Boulder County and neighboring Gilpin County have successfully implemented thermal biomass systems that utilize local wood fuels to heat public facilities. This newest project, which brings together the county’s sustainability and forest health initiatives, explores the use of wood biomass for heating in the commercial sector.
Boulder County has a surplus of wood biomass from annual operations to thin forests for ecological health and fire mitigation. The County already generates about 2,500 tons of wood biomass annually from current forest health and wildfire mitigation efforts on 150 acres of County property. Management efforts associated with the mountain pine beetle, which has affected more than 26,000 acres of public and private forested lands in Boulder County, will most likely significantly increase the total availability of wood biomass in the immediate future.
The study will look at the initial cost benefit analysis and technical feasibility of biomass heating systems; the project goal is to identify at least one organization that will move forward to the design and engineering of a biomass heating system. Partners commit to an initial review of their facilities, and then will have to weigh the capital start up or conversion costs, the operating costs, and the intangible benefits (such as educational opportunities, marketing, reduced carbon emissions and upholding an organization’s environmental ethic).
“Celestial Seasonings has always been forward-thinking and creative when it comes to incorporating what’s best for the environment into our business practices,” said David Ziegert, Acting General Manager of Celestial Seasonings in Boulder. “Our participation in the county’s biomass feasibility study aligns with our vision.”
“What better an environment than a school to ensure that the practices of alternative future energy sources in Boulder County reaches this and future generations. Dawson is excited to be a part of the feasibility study that reinforces its already progressing sustainability plan,” said Patty Leslie, Business Manager/CFO of Alexander Dawson School.
For companies who do not have a current facility, such as ConocoPhillips, the project will look at a conceptual review of the site and how biomass might fit into future development plans. The project will also identify additional grants or funding to support conversion or system development costs for partners. The study will be completed by Agency CTA of Denver and with research assistance from students of the CU LEED School of Business.
For more information about the use of biomass, visit the GEO website at http://www.colorado.gov/energy/renewables/biomass.asp
