Construction starts on US$37M biomass woodchip boiler at school district in Oakland, Maine, will provide hot water to three schools when complete in April 2012

Bdebbie Garcia

LOS ANGELES , October 12, 2011 (Industry Intelligence) – A US$37-million biomass boiler project in Oakland, Maine, which began construction last month, was formally recognized at a groundbreaking ceremony with various officials on Tuesday, reported the Kennebec Journal on Oct. 12.

The 2,471-square-foot biomass plant, which is being built on the property of Regional School Unit 18, will burn woodchips to provide heat to three local schools when it starts operating in April 2012.

Funding for the project came from the Federal American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. The U.S. Forest Service awarded $500,000 and $3.7 million came from a no-interest federal construction bond, the Kennebec Journal reported.

Maine people are spending $5 billion annually for out-of-state heating fuel, but the new biomass plant will use resources within Maine, said Ken Fletcher, director of Maine’s Office of Energy Independence and Security, who attended the ceremony Tuesday.

The new biomass plant will cut heating oil usage by 60,000 gallons per year and save $5 million to $10 million in operating cost over the next 30 years, said U.S. Senator Olympia Snowe, in a letter read at the groundbreaking, reported the Kennebec Journal.

The primary source of this article is the Kennebec Journal, Augusta, Maine, on Oct. 12, 2011.

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