New school to have biomass boiler
When Kalispell's new high school opens in 2 1/2 years, the district will start doing its part to support the local economy, save energy and cut down on cash output.
They'll do it that a biomass boiler.
The school board voted last week to include the boiler in the high school design. Wood chips, sawdust and similar materials will fuel it, with a natural-gas default furnace incorporated into the system.
Just minutes before the unanimous favorable vote, trustees learned the Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation had approved a 50-percent matching grant for $240,000.
The grant carries a caveat that the school must buy 50 percent of its wood chips from a forest-fire fuel reduction source for the first two years.
District Clerk Todd Watkins did not have the state's paperwork in hand by Tuesday afternoon, but said he probably will recommend covering the balance through an internal loan within high school district funds.
Similar technology is in place in 35 schools around Montana, CTA Architects representative Nick Salmon told the board. Kalispell's would be akin to that found in Philipsburg.
Schools at Victor and Darby also have biomass heating systems.
"You'd be buying 92 percent of your heating capacity for only 35 percent of your BTUs," Salmon told the board.
Because the grant is larger than expected, the school could start recovering its cost through energy savings from the day the new school's doors open in fall 2007, he said.
In a cost comparison among several fuels, Salmon showed that wood chips, at $3 to $4 per decatherm, are on a par with coal, at $3 per decatherm. Wood pellets are a bit higher, at $5 to $6. A decatherm is a measurement of heating capacity.
Natural gas costs $4 to $8 per decatherm while electricity costs $15 to $20.
Watkins said the payback would come over 10 years. Projected savings are something like $24,000 in heating costs a year.
Trustees quizzed Salmon on supply sources.
He said three or four local chip suppliers already are interested in bidding on a supply contract.
If local wood supplies dry up in the future, he assured trustee Mary Ruby, the boiler can be retrofitted to burn cardboard, paper or other fuels. St. Paul, Minn. - where trees are few and far between - has one of the largest biomass systems in the country. It burns pallets and other scrap materials.
Maintenance also was a concern - at $600 a year for natural gas compared with $3,700 a year for a biomass system.
"Would our maintenance people do that?" trustee Eve Dixon asked.
Facilities supervisor Chuck Cassidy said the work falls within their skill sets, but spending any more than an hour or two a day on it would beg the need to contract out for more extensive work.
Salmon touted biomass benefits. Not only will it cut fuel costs now and keep them stable in the future, it helps the local timber industry by creating a market for wood that otherwise is scrapped. By clearing out local forests, it reduces fire hazards and uses a renewable fuel source.
And the system can be a science and technology teaching tool.
Wood chips, sawdust, pellets or other fuel are loaded into a large holding bin, from which the fuel is conveyed to the burner. The heat is captured and distributed through duct work to the entire building.
Kalispell is in a particulate nonattainment area for state air quality standards, Salmon said. But emissions from a biomass system are extremely low, he said. Steam will rise from the stack only for a short time until the system's efficiency kicks in. Smell is almost nonexistent, he added.
"It's only wise to go with a dual heat system," trustee Ivan Lorentzen said, "when we spend $275,000 to $300,000 on natural gas versus $400,000 to $500,000 for a dual system, and we have half the difference paid for by a grant."
Reporter Nancy Kimball may be reached at 758-4483 or by e-mail at nkimball@dailyinterlake.com