POLAND — Wood chips may become the fuel of the future at Poland Regional High School: The School Committee directed Business Manager Rick Kusterin to seek a grant that could cover 90 percent of the cost of a wood-fired boiler system.

"Oil isn't the future," School Committee member Norm Davis said.

 He cautioned that there might be more obstacles involved in moving to a wood-fired boiler than it first appears, but he joined the board's unanimous vote supporting pursuit of the grant.

A month ago, Kusterin reported that one of the school's boilers had failed and was out of service.

Cost estimates for its replacement range from $35,000 to $60,000 but, he noted, it wouldn't cost much more, with a grant worked in, to switch to a wood-fired boiler.

The grant would come from the state's Public Building Wood to Energy program which requires a 10 percent local match.

Kusterin said he received an estimate of about $636,000 for a system capable of meeting the school's heating needs.

At that price, the school system's contribution, $63,600, would be just a little more than the cost of replacing the failed boiler and, Kusterin argued, the long-range savings would be substantial since the cost of wood chips as a fuel are far lower than the cost of No. 2 heating oil.

He estimated a wood-chip system could reduce fuel costs by two-thirds.

"You are going to have to buy a boiler anyway," Kusterin said.

The deadline for submitting the grant application is Jan. 5, 2010. Kusterin was directed to prepare the application and present it to the School Committee for approval at its Jan. 4 meeting.

"We owe it to the taxpayers to get the best deal we can," committee Chairman Dave Griffiths said.

The school now is being heated with a second oil-fired boiler which should be adequate for all but the coldest days, Kusterin said. On those days there might be a few rooms colder than they ought to be.