through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, have added to energy savings
on the campus.
A project is now underway to install a
900 kilowatt biomass boiler in the Mailman
Trades Building, which houses many of the
trade programs at the College. In addition
to providing heat for that building, work
includes underground piping to connect the
biomass system to provide heat for the Christie Complex, the largest classroom building
on campus that also houses administrative
offices.
The $1 million project will provide
significant annual energy cost savings and
positive environmental impact, as well as
provide a regional economic boost and new
hands-on learning opportunities for students
taking alternative energy courses at NMCC.
“This project is expected to reduce heating costs on our campus significantly and
replace more than 65 percent of our fuel oil
consumption with a local, renewable energy
source. The changeover to wood pellets will
also serve as the equivalent in reducing
carbon emissions to more than 100 cars
taken off the road,” said NMCC President
Timothy Crowley. “Given all of these benefits, perhaps the most unique to NMCC is
the opportunity this will provide our students enrolled in alternative energy programs
and courses to experience this technology
firsthand.”
Altogether, the boiler will provide 85
percent of the heating load for 170,275
square feet of building space between the two
facilities. Early projections estimate a total
savings of more than $43,000 in utility costs
annually, and the replacement of an estimated 47,000 gallons of fuel oil with local
pellets.
The biomass boiler project was made
possible through a $500,000 grant funded
by the United States Forest Service under the
American Recovery Act of 2009 and administered by the Maine Forest Service.
“What makes this project special is
NMCC’s incorporation of their new wood
fired boiler system into their alternative energy curriculum. NMCC not only talks the
“Our region is
expected to see significant increases
in the demand
for skilled workers
in the renewable
energy industry.
The efforts being
undertaken here
at NMCC in
alternative energy training and
education will be critical to meet
this rising demand.”
Robert Clark, Executive Director
Northern Maine
Development Commission
Taking part in the
groundbreaking ceremony were, from
left: Barry Ingraham,
NMCC director of
facilities and information technology;
NMCC President
Timothy Crowley;
Thomas Wood,
senior planner with
the Maine Forest
Service; and Robert
Clark, executive
director of NMDC
and vice chair of
the Maine Community College System
Board of Directors.
talk, they walk the walk. By doing so they
will be giving hands-on experience in wood
fired systems from fuel delivery to combustion to all of the related monitoring and
control systems to their students,” said
Thomas Wood, senior planner with the
Forest Service in Augusta. “It is good for
the College, it is good for the students, and
when the students take their skills into the
market