PARIS — The major components for the Oxford Hills School District's biomass furnace arrived in Paris on Tuesday morning.
Roland Goupil of Thayer Corporation in Auburn works to install an auger that will deliver the wood chips to the biomass furnace next month.
Roland Goupil, left, and Mike Whalen of Thayer Corp. in Auburn look at a piece of the auger they were installing Tuesday morning in preparation for a biomass boiler to be installed at Oxford Hills Comprehensive High School in Paris.
Cote Crane workers arrived early to unload a crate that was delivered to its Auburn facility last week from Boston Harbor, after being shipped by sea from Austria. The crate contained augers, a “rolling” floor and other parts for operating the $2 million biomass furnace.
The furnace is expected to be up and running at the Oxford Hills Comprehensive High School in April.
Oxford Hills School District Facilities Director David Marshall said the furnace will arrive at the school as soon as the preliminary work is completed.
Tuesday's work included installing the auger, which will bring the wood chips from one room through another and finally into the furnace room, and the installation of a rolling floor which will assist in the operation of the furnace.
The conversion project from oil to wood chips at the high school was planned to address escalating fuel costs and to make the district more energy independent. The furnace will supplement about 90 percent of the consumption of No. 2 fuel oil.
Other energy-saving measures include solar panels on the high school roof and LED lighting, Marshall said.
Over the last several months construction has included a 57- by 22-foot concrete floor for the wood chip storage unit in the back of the high school and an addition for the furnace.
The biomass furnace, which is being paid for in part by a $750,000 state Department of Conservation grant, is expected to save the district as much as $120,000 a year in annual fuel savings.
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WHAT MAINE ALTERNATIVE ENERGY JOBS?
Boiler made in Austria and the wood pellet contract went to a Canadian company?
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