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The Dayton School Board has approved the project, which will replace the existing fuel oil heating system, and now begins a search for funding sources.
By Ken Graham
In October, the Dayton School Board approved a resolution to move forward on development and construction of a biomass heating system for Dayton's school buildings. The system will include a new incinerator and boiler, but utilize the existing steam heat circulating systems in the school buildings. The fuel source will be wood chips from various sources, which will likely include reclaimed trees, limbs and branches from the local area.
The cost of the project is expected to be between $2 million and $2.5 million, and it is hoped that the new system will be complete and operational before the beginning of the 2010/2011 school year.
According to Dayton School Superintendent Rich Stewart, a new incinerator, boiler, and chip storage area will likely be located on the site of the current school tennis courts on Second Street. At least one of the current fuel oil boilers at the school will remain operational to provide backup and peak-load operation.
Stewart says that the current fuel oil heating system for Dayton's school buildings uses about 35,000 gallons of heating oil per year. "High oil prices recently have driven our heating costs up tremendously," says Stewart, "and one of our current boilers will soon need to be replaced."
Over the past few years, an advisory committee to the School Board has been studying a number of potential replacement heating systems, and has determined that the biomass system will provide the quickest payback on the initial investment, due to fuel cost savings. Another advantage of the biomass system, according to Stewart, is that it will require little or no modification to the existing steam distribution systems in the buildings. "The committee also looked carefully at putting in a new heat pump system," he says, "but that would require major modifications in all of the buildings."
A number of funding sources for the new heating system are being looked at. "We are approaching the state legislature about getting funds through a capital improvement pilot project program they have," says Stewart. "The governor's office also has seed money available for capital improvement projects for schools." Stewart says the board is also looking at interest-free bonds that are available for energy improvement projects at schools. And he says the school board has the option of going to local voters for a capital bond levy as well.
Once funding is secured, the school board plans to go out for bids for installation of the system using a "performance contract". This will require the contractor to share the risk for the cost of the project.
"The district has been looking at the biomass system for a long time," says Stewart. "It's proven itself at several other schools and public facilities in Idaho and Montana, so the committee felt that it's a cost-effective and low-risk way to go." Stewart says that Dayton will be one of the very first schools in Washington to install a biomass heating system. This is one of the reasons that Dayton has a good chance of receiving "pilot project" funding through the legislature, he says.
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