Vermont college opens $5.8M biomass plant

With the goal of cutting its carbon emissions by more than 50 percent, Vermont’s Green Mountain College opened a new $5.8 million biomass plant today.

The new plant will burn locally-sourced woodchips, is intended to provide an estimated 85 percent of the school’s heat, and generate 20 percent of its electricity.

The combined heat and power biomass plant is expected to pay for itself over 18 years through savings on fuel costs, the college said.

The college estimates it will burn 4,000 tons to 5,000 tons of locally-harvested woodchips each year as the primary fuel. The college plans to use fuel oil as a backup to heat campus buildings.

Read the full post in Mass High Tech.