January 20, 2010 Hartford school lets the chips burn where they may By OMAR RICARDO AQUIJE oaquije@poststar.com
HARTFORD -- The Hartford Central School District on Wednesday celebrated its new heating system, which is supposed to save thousands of dollars and could turn the district into a pioneer for alternative energy.
Following an assembly and a ribbon-cutting ceremony, school officials and architects showed off the alternative energy plant to the public.
The plant, located beside the school, burns wood chips to produce heat. No other New York public school has such a system.
"This is the first of its kind in New York," said Daniel Woodside, the vice president of CSArch, the architecture and construction firm that designed and built the plant.
The event drew local taxpayers, along with government officials and representatives from neighboring school districts.
Dan McCane, a Hartford resident, said he wanted to see the system work.
"I think it's cool the school district is the first in New York state to do this," he said.
On average, the school district spends $110,000 on heating oil each year, officials said.
The district will spend $45,000 a year on wood chips, buying them from a local supplier, officials said. The district will continue also to buy oil, but much less than before.
The $1 million plant was part of a $15.7 million project to renovate and expand the school. District voters approved the project in December of 2006.
The plant holds up to 36 tons of wood chips. A hydraulic system transfers the chips into a gasifier, where they are converted into gas.
The gas then gets burned and heats a steel boiler, creating hot water.
Officials said the system will use less fossil fuels and reduce the school's impact on the environment. Potash produced from burning wood chips will be given to local farmers for fertilizer.
Matthias Donnelly, superintendent of the nearby Greenwich Central School District, said he came to see the plant after hearing a lot about it.
"I think it's fabulous," he said after touring the plant.
He said a similar system might not work in his district because it has three separate schools.
"I don't know if this system can apply to our district," he said. "But, it is certainly something that can spark ideas."
