The Haines Borough Assembly has taken a step towards purchasing a wood chipper, its next move in a multi-year borough discussion about converting of public buildings from burning diesel to biomass for heating.
The assembly voted unanimously June 27 to issue a request for proposals (RFP) for a wood chipper, which would be used to produce fuel for use in a biomass boiler. Krista Kielsmeier, executive assistant to borough manager Debra Schnabel, said she hopes to issue the RFP within the next two weeks.
“It’s a move forward,” said public facilities director Brad Ryan. “It’s one more step towards the biomass project.”
The chipper would be bought with a U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Business Development grant of $92,136. The Alaska Energy Authority has pledged an additional $20,000.
The borough is eyeing two chippers from equipment maker Vermeer, which are priced at $103,180 and $110,808.
Time is running out on the USDA funds, which must be used before August 31. The federal grant money may also come with conditions. The grant requires that the wood chipper be leased to a “small and/or emerging business” within the community and the lease agreement must be in place before Jan. 15, 2020, for the borough to be reimbursed with the grant money.
It’s also unclear whether the wood chipper could be used other than for producing fuel for a biomass heater. Kielsmeier said the borough is seeking clarification from the USDA.
Before the vote June 27, a team representing the Southeast Conference, Alaska Energy Authority, Renewable Energy Alaska Project, and the state Division of Forestry provided an overview of the biomass project and answered assembly members’ questions.
The assembly is considering a design from Portland, Oregon-based Wisewood Energy for a wood chip-fueled boiler to heat public buildings in Haines. Wisewood estimated that a boiler for heating only the pool and school, the baseline option, would cost the borough between $1.88 million and $2.14 million.
The borough has $1 million in Alaska Energy Authority grant funding, but it would still need to come up with the rest of the money to move forward on the project.
“We could get more funding from another grant agency, or we could fund it ourselves,” said Ryan.
Devany Plentovich, program manager for the Alaska Energy Authority’s biomass program, said the proposed biomass heater would be “a dramatic improvement” over the current diesel heating in terms of sustainability.
Wood chip fuel, harvested from Haines forests and produced locally, would be far more eco-friendly than the current diesel fuel. In the baseline option, the boiler would consume an estimated 560 tons of wood chips per year. Wisewood estimates that the heater would pay for itself in between 15 and 25 years, subject to changes in oil, electricity, and labor prices.
Those numbers could look better, Plentovich admitted. “We are struggling statewide with justifying biomass projects right now because fuel oil is quite inexpensive,” she said.
Even so, the combination of replacing diesel with local wood chips and promoting local jobs outweighs makes the project “sort of a win-win-win,” said Clay Good, a STEM educator with Renewable Energy Alaska Project.
Wisewood’s proposal assumes that wood chip fuel would be produced locally, which means the project hinges on having a wood chipper.
Assembly member Tom Morphet expressed concern that, should the biomass project fall through, the wood chipper could become a burden.
“This is a big piece of equipment, and if something goes sideways, we’re stuck with a big piece of equipment that nobody wants,” said Morphet.
Haines Economic Development Corp. two weeks earlier released a report recommending purchase of a chipper. Several community members have expressed interest in leasing the chipper, including Haynes Tormey of Haines Industrial Supply, the report said. The report also said the federal grant would allow the borough to get rid of the chipper. If the biomass project stalled or the chipper was unprofitable, the borough could sell the machine and pay back a part of the money to the USDA.
“It appears low-risk,” the report said.