Vermont Technical College has completed the first year of an innovative energy savings project that both reduced oil consumption and saved the College thousands of dollars in heating expenses. In 2011, the College received $185,000 from the U.S. Department of Energy through a competitive grants program to promote sustainable energy for homes and businesses. With this funding, Vermont Tech installed a Frohling biomass pellet boiler system that now provides heat for the Red School House building at the Randolph Center campus. In just its first year of use, the pellet boiler reduced annual heating oil use by approximately 3,200 gallons with a savings of $4,200 to the College.
Student Matthew Potvin with professor John Kidder and the pellet boiler.
‘ Vermont has the capability of being a model for other states in cutting greenhouse gas emissions and transforming our energy system,’ said Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders. ‘ This project at Vermont Tech is not only saving money and reducing pollution by cutting back on heating oil consumption, it is providing students and faculty a real opportunity to examine how we use advanced biomass harvested in Vermont to meet our heating needs. The educational value, the practical research, and the energy savings make this project a good investment for Vermont Tech and the Department of Energy.’
The objectives of the project included installation of the biomass heating system, cultivation of various grass species, pelletization of the grass using a mobile processing system, and measurements of pellet properties and of the combustion efficiency and particulate emissions. Various grass species were cultivated and processed using a trailer-mounted pelletizing system. Pellet processing studies were done to correlate process parameters with pellet properties and establish methods for producing larger batches, and a combustion monitoring system was designed and tested.
‘ We’ re thrilled with the initial results of the pellet boiler installation,’ said Professor John Kidder, director of the initiative. ‘ This project is about more than heating just one building on our campus. We’ re incorporating the technology and methods developed in this project into educational programs and activities with the goal of moving forward with training and research that develops knowledge of biomass as a fuel for heating.’
The equipment and technical knowledge gained from this project will be incorporated into Vermont Tech’ s course curriculum and will presented at public workshop events.
About Vermont Technical College ‘ Vermont Technical College is the only public institution of higher learning in Vermont whose mission is applied education. One of the five Vermont State Colleges, Vermont Tech serves students from throughout Vermont, New England, and beyond at its two residential campuses in Williston and Randolph Center, regional campuses in Brattleboro and Bennington and at six other nursing campuses located throughout the state. Our academic programs encompass a wide range of engineering technology, agricultural, health, and business fields that are vital to producing the knowledge workers need most by employers in the state and in the region. www.vtc.edu.
March 4, 2013 ‘ Vermont Technical College