CO - One Heating Plant For All Of Silverton? Biomass Project Proposed

A central heating system that could one day serve all the buildings in Silverton

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One Heating Plant For All Of Silverton? Biomass Project Proposed

By Mark Esper
Thursday, April 30, 2009

A central heating system that could one day serve all the buildings in Silverton?

Thats the idea behind a proposal put forward to the Silverton Town Council by a group of businessmen Monday night, who say its not so far-fetched.

And the Silverton Town Council expressed interest in seeking a grant to conduct a feasibility study on the plan to radically change the way buildings are heated in town.

David Gibney of Forest Energy Systems in Show Low, Ariz., Robert Young of Spur Companies in Kremmling, and Brian Fullmer, who hauls coal into town for several clients, told the council Monday that they would like the town to get a $25,000 grant from the Governors Energy Office to see if it makes sense to build a biomass heating plant in Silverton.

Fullmer said a central plant could efficiently heat several of the large buildings in town.

Town Trustee John Schertz, who services a half dozen coal-fired boilers in town, said the idea is to install a humungous boiler and ducts that will plumb through town, with the capability of heating up to every building and home.

The system could burn construction debris or wood chips from nearby forests.

Gibney noted the schools urgent need for a new heating system since its coal-fired boiler bit the dust last fall.

We could take care of their immediate needs this season, Gibney said. This could be the first piece of the puzzle.

He said Silverton has a nice layout for such a system, and with most the streets unpaved, the cost of installing underground hot-water lines would be reduced substantially.

Ultimately, he said, Silverton would be able to stabilize the cost of heating.

Trustee Jim Lindaman questioned whether there may be problems accessing trees for fuel on public lands in the area even if a heavy bark-beetle infestation hits.

Gibney said the feasibility study will address that question, as well as whether there is public support for the idea.

Gibney said biomass heating is not practical for individual buildings. He said a central plant is the way to go if youre going to do biomass.

Young said biomass projects are under way in Granby, where enormous beetle kill has created urgency to remove dead trees and get some value from them.

Some wood pellets from there are being used down here now, Young said.

Young said the systems burn very cleanly and could make good sense for a compact town such as Silverton.

And he said the system would be an attraction as a unique experiment for North America.

Youd be the first town in North America to go off the grid, basically, on the heating side, Young said.

He cautioned however that it may not be practical to hook up all homes in town to the hot-water heat, given retrofitting costs for some buildings.

Schertz estimated the San Juan County Courthouse uses 10 tons of coal a month to heat in the winter, as did the school before its boiler gave out.

Town Hall and the old Miners Union Hospital use about 3 tons a month each, Schertz said. He estimated about 25 homes and businesses may be using coal to heat.

But Schertz said the availability of quality coal and the cost of hauling it into town means were going to have to start looking at alternatives.

Town Administrator Elyse Salazar said the council will get a chance to review the grant application prior to its submission.

And the town trustees committed no money to the project Monday night.

This article found on:
http://www.telluridenews.com/articles/2009/04/30/silverton_standard/news/doc49f9fa5f50a81786532248.txt

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Category: Forestry>Biomass Energy

Region: Colorado

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