Biomass project funding sought

OXFORD — School officials have applied for a grant that could provide $1 million to build a $1.8 million, biomass wood chip boiler at the Oxford Hills Comprehensive High School as early as next year.

"We have been following this for some time," Superintendent Mark Eastman said Wednesday of the opportunity to get some of the $12 million pool of money that has recently become available to a partnership of state agencies, including the Bureau of General Services, Efficiency Maine and the Public Utilities Commission for such projects.

The proposal to install a biomass boiler at the high school was scrapped last year after Gov. John Baldacci announced a $150 million curtailment of state funds for the fiscal year and the price of oil had dropped significantly enough to delay the project.

The proposed conversion project from oil to wood chips at the Oxford Hills Comprehensive High School was planned to address escalating fuel costs and to make the district more energy independent by reducing dependence on foreign oil sources. Even with the current drop in the cost of oil, officials say they will see a savings that could save school district jobs in the future.

The grant is one of two that school officials are seeking to construct the 950 KW biomass wood chip boiler. A second grant for $750,000 from the Department of Conservation is also being submitted. An answer back on that application is expected in early January.

"They're looking for shovel-ready projects," said district grant writer John Parsons of the $1 million grant that represents 61.4 percent of the project cost.. "We're certainly there."

"Approval of the grant is expected in the next three weeks," Eastman said.

The school district, which has been working on the project for the past 18 months, has already signed a letter of intent with Siemens Building Technologies for the project. Siemens engineers have been working with school officials in their assessment and analysis of the existing system, the energy needs of the school and the engineering and design of the the proposed installation in the 265,000-square-foot building in Paris.

If successful, 26 short term jobs would be created by the project.

Officials say that the project would reduce the consumption of fossil fuel by 88,593 gallons or 90 percent of current usage. It would also reduce production of greenhouse gases by 1,232,436 pounds per year, including 1,214,264 pounds of carbon dioxide.

Eastman said that the bottom line is the less the district has to pay for fuel, the less reductions will have to be made elsewhere in the budget in the future.

Officials say they hope to see enough savings from the conversion to save anywhere from 2.4 full-time instructional jobs or just over four full-time support jobs, such as secretaries, custodians and bus drivers to 5.6 instructional or 9.66 support positions.

The savings depends on a number of factors including the comparative prices of fuel oil and wood chips, collective bargaining agreements controlling salaries and wages and benefits, according to information in the application.

ldixon@sunjournal.com