Alternative Energy Plant

The new building features expansive windows on three sides that will allow students and the community to visualize how the system works. Within the plant, wood chips travel by way of an auger from a fuel bunker into a gasifier where they are heated to 2,200 degrees, ignite and create gas. The gas is burned in a standard boiler to produce hot water which is distributed throughout the school's hot water heating system. The system can operate at part or full capacity depending on heating demand. The district estimates that the plant will burn 1,600 tons of locally sourced wood chips in its first year of operation.



The school district expects to generate long-term cost savings. Two years ago it paid over $110,000 for oil. Chips to provide the same heat would have cost $40,000. The Alternative Energy Plant's 12-ton steel boiler generates enough heat to serve the entire school as well as a technology building on the campus.



Environmental benefits include burning wood chips purchased close to home instead of foreign fossil fuels, reducing the district's carbon footprint and supporting the local economy. In addition, area farmers will use the system's byproduct - called potash - for fertilizer. The district has plans to create hands-on curriculum that educates students about the environmental impact of renewable, alternative energy and motivates them to think in terms of solutions.