Construction of a biomass plant began in the spring of 2007 near the site of the College’s existing combined heating and power facility off South Main Street (Route 30). “Biomass” is the replacement of heating oil with a renewable fuel source; in this case, wood chips.
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, and is expected to reduce heating costs by as much as 25 percent. This alternative is also estimated to cut the College’s greenhouse gas emissions by almost 12,500 metric tons annually, helping to achieve the College’s carbon reduction goal set for the year 2012.
Middlebury's primary objective for the biomass facility is to provide a sustainable, local, renewable fuel source for heating, cooling and electricity for the campus. The College's long-range goal is to obtain wood chips harvested in an environmentally sustainable manner from local sources. In fact, the college has planted a 10-acre test plot of willow to gauge its viability in contributing to the supply.
Increasing the diversity of Middlebury's energy sources will leave the College less dependent on the global oil supply and subject to the fluctuating price of oil. Use of biomass fuel will eliminate the cost of transporting one million gallons of oil, thousands of miles to Middlebury each year; carbon emissions produced in the fuel delivery process will be reduced 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.
It is anticipated that the biomass 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.
The plant will begin operation for the fall 2008 heating season.
Office of Facilities Services
Project Manager, Tom C. McGinn
Planning, Design, and Construction
802-443-5022
tmcginn@middlebury.edu