Biomass boiler fired up in preparation for ribbon cutting

CHESTERTOWN | Representatives from various firms were in Chestertown on Nov. 16 to test fire a new wood pellet burning boiler installed in the former coal room in the basement of Chester Town Hall. Supervisor Craig Leggett said an open house and ribbon cutting for the new boiler is scheduled for Nov. 29, and technicians and consultants were getting the system up and running in preparation to go online as the primary boiler system. The idea of installing a biomass boiler, which will burn premium hardwood pellets instead of oil, started in 2012 with former supervisor Fred Monroe. Construction converting the former coal room has been going on over the course of the year. The new biomass boiler has been linked into the current steam heat system, which operated with a oil-fueled boiler. The new unit will become the primary heat source for Town Hall, with the oil unit becoming the backup. Leggett said the installation of the biomass boiler is an about $640,000 project, with the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) providing a $400,000 grant, with an additional $20,000 being supplied by the USDA. The remaining amount will be bonded over 17 years. "The bond payment will be equal to the estimated energy cost savings," Leggett said. The boiler is a demonstration project, since it is the first time a biomass boiler has been linked to a steam accumulator, which stores heat to be distributed through the building via a lower-pressure steam system. Khaled Yousef, principal energy engineer from Pyramid Energy Engineering Services out of Albany, said the system is a high efficiency, low emission, or HELE system. "Typically, with a biomass emissions system the emissions are higher than gaseous or liquid fuels," Yousef said. Yousef will collect data from the system over the next year and analyze the results. The two-stage gasification system ensures the burning of pyrolytic gases in the pellets, and a device known as a cyclone helps remove particulates (ash) from the emissions. Ken Dumont from Biomass Commodities Corporation, Williamstown, Mass., said the system is 80 percent efficient, meaning 80 percent of the fuel burned is transformed into heat. The Chester Town Board last week authorized the purchase of hardwood pellets from Vincent Heating and Fuel, which bid the sale of pellets to the town at $219 per ton. Vincent has the ability to deliver 25 tons of pellets at one time. The next bid was for $240 per ton, with a maximum delivery of 16 tons.

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Biomass boiler fired up in preparation for ribbon cutting

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