District heating and biomass: a good match for Greenfield?

[ Originally published on: Tuesday, January 19, 2010 ]

Two Greenfield energy groups are trying to promote the marriage of wood-burning electricity generation with central heating systems that warm whole neighborhoods or villages.

Greening Greenfield Energy Committee and Co-Op Power contend the two compatible technologies can be married to cut energy costs around town, better use wood resources around the region and also boost the area's economy.

''Of all the energy problems in the world, this is one a local community can fix right now,'' said district heating expert Morris Pierce of Rochester, N.Y. Pierce, a self-described ''district energy missionary,'' oversaw a combined heating and electricity system for 58 University of Rochester buildings using three miles of pipe. The system is also used to cool the buildings in summer.

The university's 25-megawatt plant heats two campuses with hot water from a boiler that now burns natural gas but will eventually burn wood chip ''biomass.''

Pierce and biomass specialist Ben Urquhart from the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation, were invited to a joint forum Saturday in Greenfield.

For the full version of this story, you may purchase The Recorder electronically, by returning to the home page and clicking under ''E-Edition'' on the right side of your screen, or you can purchase the print edition, which is available throughout Franklin County, Massachusetts.

 

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