Townsend, Montana to join growing list of biomass schools

School district officials here hope to save up to $1 million in heating costs over the next 30 years with the installation of a boiler that burns wood scraps known as "biomass" for heat.

The new boiler, which will burn wood pellets, is expected to cut Townsend’s annual $50,000 heating bill in half starting next school year. The system will be installed next summer using a $130,000 grant, although officials have yet to decide if it will heat one building or several.

"The primary thing is it is protecting the school against inflation," said Nick Salmon, architect and project manager for CTA Architects Engineers in Missoula, which is overseeing the project.

Townsend is among several schools in the state taking advantage of the federally funded Fuels for Schools http://www.fuelsforschools.org/
program, which offers financial aid to schools and other public buildings willing to heat with biomass. Biomass is essentially wood products and wood scraps typically collected either from lumber mills or from fuel reduction projects on public lands.

Schools in Darby, Victor, Thompson Falls and Philipsburg currently burn biomass for heat under the program. The University of Montana-Western in Dillon and Central Montana Medical Center in Lewistown received grants with Townsend this year, and several projects are slated to come on line in the next couple years.

Full Story: http://www.billingsgazette.com/index.php?id=1&display=rednews/2005/10/23/build/state/60-bimass-schools.inc

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Fuels for Schools http://www.fuelsforschools.org/

Further Reading: Montana Sen. Conrad Burns Expands ‘Fuels for Schools’ Program http://www.matr.net/article-13960.html

‘Win-win situation’: Chipping slash rids land of fire hazards and provides fuel for school biomass boilers http://www.matr.net/article-11840.html