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| 2010 Annual Vermont School Woodchip Users Conference |
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 Held on January 18, 2010 Cabot School, Cabot, Vermont Despite slippery road conditions from an overnight snowfall, more than 80 biomass users, suppliers, equipment manufacturers, and supporting service providers gathered at the Cabot School in Cabot, Vermont to hear about current and future woodchip industry trends and learn from one another’s experience in the operation and maintenance of school wood-fired heating systems. The conference, which has been held annually since 1996, is a source of information for those both currently operating a school woodchip or pellet system and considering such an installation at their facility. The event was organized by the Vermont Superintendents Association’s School Energy Management Program (SEMP), the Vermont Department of Forests, Parks & Recreation; and the Biomass Energy Resource Center (BERC). SEMP Director Norm Etkind kicked off the morning’s agenda by welcoming everyone, inviting participants to introduce themselves, and introducing the first of five speakers.  Adam Sherman, BERC program director and wood-fuel supply specialist, presented An Overview of Woodchip Fuel Procurement Standards. Making the distinction between harvesting and procurement standards, Sherman explained that harvesting standards govern what is happening in the forest in terms of wood removal, impacts on habitats, soil considerations, etc., whereas procurement looks at the supply chain and how harvested wood gets from the forest to the end user as wood fuel. He noted existing third-party certification programs, e.g., Forest Stewardship Council, Sustainable Forestry Initiative, Tree Farm, and Vermont Family Forests as well as training and accreditation programs available to loggers and foresters. Stating that there will be increased scrutiny in the future about where the wood fuel supply is coming from, he discussed the option of self-designed and enforced procurement standards that could be used as an alternative to existing certification programs, and provided a list of possible criteria that may be used. Everything, he stressed, should be done in close cooperation with a facility’s wood supplier and involve ongoing dialogue. He noted that a Vermont legislative study committee is conducting a three-year evaluation of options to promote and expand wood energy use in the state while also looking at ways to safeguard forests. It is not known at this time where the committee will go in its inquiry nor if and/or how the results will affect current standards. Paul Frederick, wood utilization forester from the Vermont Department of Forests, Parks & Recreation then presented an Update on Chip Supply and Trends in the Market, beginning with an overview of the various wood fuel markets in the state. Many were surprised to learn that the state’s wood-heated schools use a very small portion of the overall wood use in the state with  residential firewood accounting for more than half of all wood used in Vermont. Frederick reported a 100% response rate in the number of school woodchip use surveys returned and thanked those present for providing that valuable tracking information (see 2008-09 Vermont School Woodchip and Fuel Use Survey). He highlighted the total wood fuel usage during the 2008-09 heating season as 22,616 tons, a significant increase from 7,900 in 2000. The survey results showed that 11 wood fuel suppliers served Vermont schools, representing a decrease from the previous year’s number of 14. The loss of sawmills in the state, he explained, accounted for the decrease. Oil prices increased on average 26% while during the same period, chips increased on average 16%. Frederick noted that, according to the survey, the average price schools paid for woodchips was $59 per ton. For fuel oil to break even with woodchips, the oil price per gallon would need to be $1.18. He mentioned that schools that locked into a contracted oil price were hurt in the 2008-09 heating season when oil prices unexpectedly dropped during the winter. Demand for lumber drives the cost of woodchips, noted Frederick, and lumber prices dropped 24% during this period, a trend that will be slow to recover. Locally, many Vermont sawmills are running at 50-75% efficiency, making fewer chips available to the market. These lower prices are also causing private landowners to hold on to their timber. And, some estimate that on the national level, the number of loggers is down 30% due both to the recession and better opportunities in other professions. Comments from the audience generated dialogue on ways of improving wood fuel quality for more efficient fuel use (better chip specifications, screening, drying, wood species, etc.) and the need for multiple sourcing of suppliers to ensure an uninterrupted supply. Frederick shifted the discussion to new developments, including incentives provided to loggers through the federal Biomass Crop Assistance Program (BCAP). BCAP is set up for loggers to become better established, so it could benefit schools indirectly if suppliers pass on savings. Other new developments include the recent change in interstate weight limits for trucks (a temporary  change that went into effect on 1/13/10 and, if not made permanent, will sunset on 12/13/10), allowing more delivery efficiencies; and the appearance of exotic forest pests (namely the Asian Longhorned Beetle and the Emerald Ash Borer) whose infestations can cause severe damage to various tree species and have an adverse effect on the movement of wood. For the future, Frederick noted that wood demand will remain relatively stable over the next few years; sawmill residues will continue to be in short supply, noting that there are only half as many sawmills in Vermont as compared to 10 years ago; BCAP will influence wood uses and price; chip prices will continue to attract new suppliers (not a big increase, but a balancing act); and diesel fuel prices will continue to impact chip prices as will interstate truck weight limits.Norm Etkind, director of SEMP, began his presentation, Economics Update and Results of Survey, with an 1862 quote from Abraham Lincoln in his annual message to Congress that proves apt when considering using woodchips as a fuel source that can lessen our dependence on imported fossil fuels: “The dogmas of the quiet past are inadequate to the stormy present. The occasion is piled high with difficulty, and we must rise with the occasion. As our case is new, so we must think anew, and act anew. We must disenthrall ourselves, and then we shall save our country.” Etkind then provided an overview to the services that are available, by request, through SEMP to assist schools that are considering wood heat. He discussed various highlights of the 2008-09 Vermont School Woodchip and Fuel Use Survey, pointing to a 12% increase in tons of woodchips used by Vermont wood-heated schools over the previous year’s figures. He cited a range of fuel savings of 9%-69% and per-ton costs ranging from $36.50 to $80, constituting an average rise in wood fuel cost from the previous year of 20%. Etkind cautioned that these figures are all averages, and variations in actual usages can be seen in the survey results by looking at specific schools where a number of logistical factors account for the differences. Another average, system maintenance time per day during the heating season, is 0.8 hours and the average of annual maintenance hours is 110. He reported that overall, user satisfaction with the systems is high (8.5 on a scale of 1-10) and satisfaction with newer systems (installed since 2000 and in use for a full heating season), was 9.2. He concluded with a list of benefits that communities enjoy as a result of these schools’ use of wood energy, including local employment, tax revenue, greenhouse gas reduction, utilization of a renewable resource, and reduction in the use of imported fossil fuels.  John Hinckley from RSG, Inc. in White River Junction, Vermont, a consultant services group for the management of business, transportation, and natural resources presented An Update on Emissions Control for Small Woodchip-Fired Boilers. Hinckley provided an overview of add-on emissions control equipment for biomass systems, noting that they are all situated just prior to the system’s emissions stack (chimney). The three main categories are: 1) mechanical collectors (core separators, cyclones, and multi-cyclones); 2) baghouses (fabric-filtration systems used on systems 10 MMBtu and larger); and 3) electrostatic precipitators or ESPs (utility scale at 100 MMBtu and larger). He discussed the pros and cons of each, stating sub-optimal performance levels of mechanical collectors and potential advantages of ESPs. He noted that the US Environmental Protection Agency is planning to revise emissions limits, which will likely be stricter (and will apply to new systems with older systems likely to be grandfathered in). He fielded questions such as: Can baghouses catch on fire? (Not likely due to upstream filters that separate out fly ash before it reaches the baghouse), and: Do emissions-control equipment affect the efficiency of boilers? (No). He presented a partial list of best management practices (BMPs) as common-sense things to do to reduce emissions, including fuel quality (poor fuel quality can double normal particulate matter levels), operation and maintenance plan, boiler operation training, equipment sensors, automatic ash removal, raking grates, combustion efficiency testing, visual plume observations, and annual tune ups (which can reduce emissions by 60%). Andrew Perchlik, from the Vermont Clean Energy Development Fund (CEDF), presented on the Status of Potential State Funding. The CEDF is funded primarily through proceeds due to the State of Vermont through 2012 from Entergy Nuclear VT and Entergy Nuclear Operations, Inc., which runs Vermont Yankee. It was established in 2005 with the goal of increasing the development and deployment of cost-effective and environmentally sustainable electric power resources—primarily renewable energy resources, and combined heat and power technologies. Perchlik stated that the CEDF is now also funding thermal-only projects. He reviewed the various types of grants available through its portfolio of offerings for a variety of purposes ranging from $5,000 to $500,000. A comment was made that school districts do not have grant writers, putting them at a disadvantage in procuring this funding. Perchlik responded that the process is fairly straightforward and if the idea is a good one and the basic information is included in the grant proposal, it might be successful (also noting that a hand-written proposal was funded because of the good idea it presented).  The conference participants then broke for lunch after which they toured the Cabot School’s recently commissioned woodchip plant. Cabot School was chosen for the site of this year’s conference partly due to its 2009 installation of a chip system. The school’s director of maintenance, Patrick Campbell, has been at his job for three years. With the 2009-10 heating season being his first in operating a woodchip system of this scale, he talked about the learning curve necessary in operating and adjusting the equipment. He noted that the system heats a total of 60,000 square feet with 2,500 linear feet of underground piping connecting eight buildings on campus. When asked about lessons learned with this new system, Campbell said the traveling auger that moves chips between the front and back of the 40-50 ton capacity chip storage bin allows for only a couple of days lead time for needed chip deliveries. Other than that, he averages a half hour per day in time spent with the system in addition to about an hour and a half twice a week for other maintenance. 2010 Vermont School Woodchip and Fuel Use Survey Presentations
Image captions (from top to bottom): Norm Etkind (standing, at right) of the Vermont Superintendents Association's School Wood Energy Program welcomes attendees to the 2010 Annual Vermont School Woodchip Users Conference. The Cabot School campus comprises eight separate buildings that are heated through underground pipes from a woodchip system installed in 2009. The chip conference was an opportunity for participants to network and learn from one another's experiences in operating and maintaining woodchip and pellet systems. The Cabot School's new woodchip heating plant. Conference attendees toured the chip plant; here they are looking at the above-ground 40-50 ton-capacity chip storage bin. Cabot School's Director of Maintenance Patrick Campbell (facing camera) talks with conference visitors to the woodchip heating facility. |
