New biomass facility to reduce greenhouse gases by almost 12,500 tons a year
Demand for wood chips could stimulate local bioenergy economy
September 30, 2006
MIDDLEBURY, Vt. — Middlebury College Director of Environmental Affairs Nan Jenks-Jay announced today that the college will proceed with its plan to construct a biomass plant, which will cut the college's greenhouse gas emissions by almost 12,500 metric tons annually with power generated from wood chips rather than fuel oil. Her announcement followed a meeting of the Middlebury board of trustees, where the board approved the recommendation by administrators to build the facility.
The estimated cost of the project is $11 million. To finance the facility, the college will secure loans and has also applied for state grants. The plant will be located near the site of the college's current power facility off South Main Street (Route 30). Work on the project will start in the spring of 2007 and the plant will begin operation in the fall of 2008.
Middlebury's primary objective for the biomass facility is to provide a sustainable, local and renewable fuel source for heating, cooling and electricity for the campus. According to Jenks-Jay, the college's long-range goal is to obtain wood chips harvested in an environmentally friendly manner from local sources. "Our hope is that the college's entry into biomass will greatly stimulate the growth of the local, sustainable wood chip market and bioenergy economy in Addison County and Vermont," she said. The college estimates that it will require 20,000 to 21,000 tons of chips per year.
Middlebury College President Ronald D. Liebowitz said, "Middlebury has taken a national leadership role on the issue of carbon reduction among higher education institutions, and has a history of promoting sustainable economic development in Vermont. The biomass plant exemplifies the college's longstanding commitment to the environment not only as an academic subject but also as an integral part of the institution's operations. It reflects the significance we place on the local economy as well."
The biomass plant will cut the college's use of number six fuel oil in half, from about two million gallons to one million gallons a year. Increasing the diversity of Middlebury's energy sources, the facility will leave the college less dependent on the global oil supply and subject to the fluctuating price of oil. Use of the plant will also make it unnecessary to pay for the transportation by ship and truck of one million gallons of oil a year from thousands of miles away to Middlebury. There will be a reduction of carbon emissions produced in the fuel delivery process as well. Most of the money previously spent on the oil and its transport will continue to be spent on energy costs, but now these dollars will remain in Vermont and New England.
Once the new biomass plant is in operation, the facility will cut Middlebury's carbon emissions by almost 12,500 metric tons a year. "The college has long been concerned about its carbon footprint and its effect on global warming," said Jenks-Jay, who serves as a member of the Carbon Reduction Initiative — a group of Middlebury College students, faculty, staff and senior administrators — which has worked for several years on the biomass project as well as other initiatives.
College officials anticipate that this plant will also provide demonstration and learning opportunities regarding the design, construction and operation of biomass heat and power technologies for other colleges, municipalities, state government, hospitals, dairy and food processors, and other small to medium enterprises.
"Our search for suppliers of wood chips who use environmental principles and practices is another indication of our desire to work together with the greater community in Vermont, the Northeast and beyond to create a greener future," said Jenks-Jay.
She made the announcement at "Focus the Nation," a one-day conference on climate change initiatives at colleges and universities across the country that took place at Middlebury on Sept. 30.