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Home My WebLink AboutPort Heiden Ray's Place Biomass Heating System Finalreport Coffman 08-23-2016-BIO Feasibility Assessment for Biomass Heating System Ray’s Place, Port Heiden, Alaska 800 F Street, Anchorage, AK 99501 p (907) 276-6664 f (907) 276-5042 Lee Bolling, PE Nicholas Krysinski, PE FINAL REPORT – 8/23/2016 Feasibility Assessment for Biomass Heating Systems Port Heiden, AK Coffman Engineers, Inc. i Contents I. Executive Summary ............................................................................................................ 1 II. Introduction ...................................................................................................................... 2 III. Preliminary Site Investigation ........................................................................................... 3 PREVIOUS STUDIES ......................................................................................................................................................... 3 COMMUNITY MEETING ................................................................................................................................................... 3 BUILDING DESCRIPTION ................................................................................................................................................... 3 EXISTING HEATING SYSTEM .............................................................................................................................................. 3 DOMESTIC HOT WATER................................................................................................................................................... 3 AIR HANDLING SYSTEM ................................................................................................................................................... 4 BUILDING ENVELOPE ....................................................................................................................................................... 4 AVAILABLE SPACE ........................................................................................................................................................... 4 IV. Energy Consumption and Costs ......................................................................................... 5 ENERGY COSTS .............................................................................................................................................................. 5 CORDWOOD AND DRIFT WOOD RESOURCES ........................................................................................................................ 5 WOOD PELLETS ............................................................................................................................................................. 7 HEATING OIL ................................................................................................................................................................. 7 ELECTRICITY .................................................................................................................................................................. 7 CARDBOARD .................................................................................................................................................................. 8 EXISTING FUEL OIL CONSUMPTION .................................................................................................................................... 8 SENSITIVITY ANALYSIS ..................................................................................................................................................... 8 VI. Recommendations ........................................................................................................... 9 VII. Forest Resource and Fuel Availability Assessments ........................................................ 10 FOREST RESOURCE ASSESSMENTS .................................................................................................................................... 10 AIR QUALITY PERMITTING .............................................................................................................................................. 10 VIII. General Biomass Technology Information ..................................................................... 11 HEATING WITH WOOD FUEL ........................................................................................................................................... 11 TYPES OF WOOD FUEL .................................................................................................................................................. 11 HIGH EFFICIENCY WOOD PELLET BOILERS ......................................................................................................................... 12 HIGH EFFICIENCY CORDWOOD BOILERS ............................................................................................................................ 12 LOW EFFICIENCY CORDWOOD BOILERS ............................................................................................................................. 12 HIGH EFFICIENCY WOOD STOVES .................................................................................................................................... 13 BULK FUEL BOILERS ...................................................................................................................................................... 13 GRANTS ..................................................................................................................................................................... 13 Appendices Appendix A – Site Photos Appendix B – AWEDTG Field Data Sheet Feasibility Assessment for Biomass Heating Systems Port Heiden, AK Coffman Engineers, Inc. ii Abbreviations ACF Accumulated Cash Flow ASHRAE American Society of Heating, Refrigeration, and Air-Conditioning Engineers AEA Alaska Energy Authority AFUE Annual Fuel Utilization Efficiency B/C Benefit / Cost Ratio BTU British Thermal Unit BTUH BTU per hour CCF One Hundred Cubic Feet CEI Coffman Engineers, Inc. CFM Cubic Feet per Minute Eff Efficiency F Fahrenheit ft Feet GPM Gallons Per Minute HP Horsepower HRV Heat Recovery Ventilator HVAC Heating, Ventilating, and Air-Conditioning in Inch(es) kWh Kilowatt-Hour lb(s) Pound(s) MBH Thousand BTUs per Hour O&M Operations and Maintenance MMBTU One Million BTUs PC Project Cost R R-Value SF Square Feet, Supply Fan TEMP Temperature V Volts W Watts Feasibility Assessment for Biomass Heating Systems Port Heiden, AK Coffman Engineers, Inc. iii List of Figures Figure 1 – Port Heiden, Alaska – Yahoo Maps .............................................................................................. 2 Figure 2 – Ray’s Place .................................................................................................................................... 2 Figure 3 – Potential Biomass Boiler Location ................................................................................................ 4 Figure 4 – Typical tundra ecosystem around Port Heiden ............................................................................ 6 Figure 5 – Typical beach near Port Heiden (One piece of drift wood found) ............................................... 6 Figure 6 – Typical beach near Port Heiden ................................................................................................... 7 List of Tables Table 1 – Energy Comparison ....................................................................................................................... 5 Table 2 – Existing Fuel Oil Consumption ....................................................................................................... 8 Table 3 – Sensitivity Analysis ........................................................................................................................ 8 Feasibility Assessment for Biomass Heating Systems Port Heiden, AK Coffman Engineers, Inc. 1 I. Executive Summary A preliminary feasibility assessment was completed to determine the technical and economic viability of biomass heating systems at Ray’s place in Port Heiden, Alaska. The site visit revealed an insufficient supply of affordable wood resources at Port Heiden. Wood resources such as cordwood, driftwood, cardboard, wood chips, and wood pellets were evaluated. All of these options are more expensive than fuel oil and therefore a biomass heating project would be difficult to justify on a purely economic basis at this time. The community does have other more cost effective ways to reduce energy costs and consumption in their community. It is recommended that Port Heiden pursue the following items:  Locate the past energy audit completed on Ray’s Place and complete all cost effective energy conservation measures.  Complete energy audits of other community and residential buildings.  A Conceptual Design Report is in progress by the Alaska Energy Authority for power plant upgrades that will add heat recovery capabilities. Using heat recovery from the power plant to heat community buildings is a cost effective way to reduce heating oil consumption.  Evaluate expanding wind power or adding solar photovoltaics to the community power grid.  The community expressed interest in processing and burning fish oil from waste that would be generated from a future fish processing plant. Fish oil has successfully been blended with diesel to create biodiesel in other locations. If a plant is built, it is recommended that a feasibility study be completed to evaluate the viability of using fish oil. More information on using fish oil for fuel can be found at http://www.akenergyauthority.org/Programs/AEEE/Biomass. Feasibility Assessment for Biomass Heating Systems Port Heiden, AK Coffman Engineers, Inc. 2 II. Introduction A preliminary feasibility assessment was completed to determine the technical and economic viability of biomass heating systems for the Ray’s Place building located in Port Heiden, Alaska. The location of the building is shown in Figures 1 and 2. Figure 1 – Port Heiden, Alaska – Yahoo Maps Figure 2 – Ray’s Place Feasibility Assessment for Biomass Heating Systems Port Heiden, AK Coffman Engineers, Inc. 3 III. Preliminary Site Investigation Previous Studies During the site visit it was reported that an energy audit had been performed years ago, but was not available for review. No other studies were identified. Community Meeting Coffman attempted to coordinate a community meeting, however, community members were not available to meet during the site visit. While onsite, Coffman met with Ray’s Place’s manager and discussed the biomass and energy efficiency opportunities at their building. According to the manager, the community is interested in lowering energy costs at their buildings. Building Description Ray’s Place is a 6,600 square foot two-story building that was constructed in the year 2000. There have not been any major renovations to the building or its systems. The building is used on a daily basis by the community. Daily occupancy ranges from ten people to thirty or more. The first floor functions as the community space, and includes a large main room with a vaulted ceiling and a residential-style kitchen. The second floor functions as office space and lodging. Existing Heating System The building is heated by a Frontier EK3 oil-fired hot water boiler (Model EK-3F, 2.25-3.0 Gal/hr input, 272-357 MBH output). This boiler is part of the original construction and is 16 years old. It delivers 180F hot water to various loads through the building consisting of:  baseboard radiators,  an indirect water heater in the mechanical room, and a  unit heater in the mechanical room. The mechanical room is located on grade, approximately four feet below the first floor, in the back of the building along an exterior wall that contains a window. It includes the boiler, pumps, zone heating valves, indirect hot water heater, domestic water purifier, and one of three electrical panels. The hot water piping within the mechanical room is not insulated. The room contains a unit heater, so this piping could likely be insulated without risk of frozen pipes. The distribution piping runs through a wall into the crawlspace, and it is unknown whether these pipes are insulated. The boiler is fed by a 1,300 gallon above-ground double-wall storage tank, located outside of the mechanical room’s exterior wall. The boiler receives routine maintenance by knowledgeable maintenance personnel. The boiler appeared to be in good condition and operating correctly. Domestic Hot Water Domestic hot water is used for a residential-style kitchen, a restroom, and the apartment unit on the second floor. The water is heated by an 80-gallon indirect water heater (Amtrol Model WH10DW) that is served by a dedicated boiler loop. Feasibility Assessment for Biomass Heating Systems Port Heiden, AK Coffman Engineers, Inc. 4 Air Handling System Ray’s Place does not have any mechanical building ventilation. The mechanical plans for the building show two HRVs, however, none were discovered on the site visit and the maintenance staff did not think any existed. The mechanical plans varied from the system on site in several ways, as they also showed a second boiler and an additional water heater that were not present. Building Envelope The building consists of 2x6 wall construction with metal siding and double pane windows. It has a cold roof above the attic space, and is topped with metal roofing. Available Space There is no space inside of the building for a biomass system, so a new detached building would be needed to house a biomass boiler system. There is space available on the north side of the building, near the fuel oil storage tank, as depicted in Figure 3 below. Figure 3 – Potential Biomass Boiler Location Location of Proposed Biomass Building Feasibility Assessment for Biomass Heating Systems Port Heiden, AK Coffman Engineers, Inc. 5 IV. Energy Consumption and Costs Energy Costs The table below shows the energy comparison of different fuel types. The system efficiency is used to calculate the delivered MMBTU’s of energy to the building. The delivered cost of energy to the building, in $/MMBTU, is the most accurate way to compare costs of different energy types. As shown below, fuel oil is the most affordable option, on a $/MMBTU basis. Table 1 – Energy Comparison Fuel Type Units Gross BTU/unit System Efficiency $/unit Delivered $/MMBTU Fuel Oil gal 134,000 75% $4.50 $44.78 Electricity kWh 3,413 99% $0.25 $73.99 Wood Pellets (Shipped to Naknek) ton 16,000,000 75% $1,073 $89.42 Wood Pellets (Shipped to Port Heiden) ton 16,000,000 75% $1,453 $121.08 Cordwood or Drift Wood Resource unavailable in viable quantities Cordwood and Drift Wood Resources During the site visit Coffman physically investigated possible sources of local cordwood and driftwood. No viable local wood resources were found. The surrounding ecosystem around Port Heiden is tundra and there is no accessible forest timber nearby that can supply a source of cord wood. It is reported that a half cord of driftwood can be collected within a 30 mile (5 hour) roundtrip excursion on the beach east of town with a four wheeler and trailer. This driftwood is used primarily for steam baths and it is sometimes difficult to find enough driftwood to meet this demand. Driftwood is reported to be resupplied seasonally on the beach. Coffman completed a site visit with local representatives to the beach to investigate drift wood resources. The team used four wheelers to travel east along the beach for one hour each way. Less than a half dozen pieces of driftwood were observed. The drift wood resource appears to be too low for any large scale biomass project to be viable. Feasibility Assessment for Biomass Heating Systems Port Heiden, AK Coffman Engineers, Inc. 6 Figure 4 – Typical tundra ecosystem around Port Heiden Figure 5 – Typical beach near Port Heiden (One piece of drift wood found) Feasibility Assessment for Biomass Heating Systems Port Heiden, AK Coffman Engineers, Inc. 7 Figure 6 – Typical beach near Port Heiden Wood Pellets There is no local wood pellet manufacturer or distributer in Port Heiden, which means that wood pellets would have to be barged into the community. Wood pellets are typically sold in 40 lb bags and shipped by the pallet (where 50 bags are loaded on a pallet). Each pallet is one ton of pellets. Wood pellets are currently sold in Anchorage for $295/ton. The cost for shipping one ton of wood pellets by barge to Port Heiden was quoted by two companies (Lynden Transport and Alaska Logistics). Lynden was only able to ship to Naknek, at a rate of $778 per ton (resulting in a total cost of $1,073/ton including the pellets). The cost from Alaska Logistics was $1,158 per ton from Anchorage to Port Heiden (resulting in a total cost of $1,453/ton). Both options are more expensive than heating oil or electricity on a BTU basis. Due to these factors, wood pellets was not considered as an economical fuel for this study. Heating Oil Fuel oil is shipped into Port Heiden by barge and currently costs approximately $4.50/gal. For this study, the energy content of fuel oil is based on 134,000 BTU/gal, according to the UAF Cooperative Extension. Compared to electricity and shipping in wood pellets, heating oil is the most cost effective heating fuel in Port Heiden. Electricity Electricity is provided by the local power utility, Port Heiden Utilities at a standard rate of $0.65/kWh. For usage over 500 kWh/month the rate reduces to $0.25/kWh. The lower rate of $0.25/kWh is in this report. Feasibility Assessment for Biomass Heating Systems Port Heiden, AK Coffman Engineers, Inc. 8 Cardboard The amount of cardboard in the community was observed during the site visit. At that time, there was not a large stockpile of cardboard and there is likely not enough cardboard generated regularly to provide a reasonable benefit. Existing Fuel Oil Consumption The annual heating oil consumption at Ray’s Place was reported as approximately 2,400 gallons. The estimated annual fuel cost, based on the current price of heating oil, is $10,800. Table 2 – Existing Fuel Oil Consumption Building Fuel Type Annual Consumption Net MMBTU/yr Avg. Annual Cost Ray’s Place Fuel Oil 2,400 gal 241.2 $10,800 Sensitivity Analysis In order to get an economically justified project with a benefit to cost ratio of 1.0, the cost of wood pellets would need to be $100/ton. This is based on an estimated $250,000 capital cost for a new wood pellet boiler system that would offset all of the building’s heating oil. Current prices for wood pellets are over ten times this rate, which shows that heating with wood pellets is not economically justified at this time. A sensitivity analysis was completed to show how changing heating oil costs and wood costs affect the benefit to cost (B/C) ratios of the project. The B/C ratios greater than 1.0 are economically justified and are highlighted in green. B/C ratios less than 1.0 are not economically justified and are highlighted in red. The sensitivity analysis shows that the project is not economically justified with wood pellet costs greater than $100/ton at the current heating oil price of $4.50/gal. Table 3 – Sensitivity Analysis B/C Ratios Cordwood Cost $100/ton $250/ton $500/ton $750/ton $1,000/ton Heating Oil Cost $3.50/gal 0.76 0.50 0.07 -0.36 -0.79 $4.00/gal 0.89 0.63 0.20 -0.23 -0.66 $4.50/gal 1.01 0.76 0.32 -0.11 -0.54 $5.00/gal 1.14 0.88 0.45 0.02 -0.41 $5.50/gal 1.27 1.01 0.58 0.15 -0.29 $6.00/gal 1.39 1.13 0.70 0.27 -0.16 $6.50/gal 1.52 1.26 0.83 0.40 -0.03 $7.00/gal 1.64 1.38 0.95 0.52 0.09 $7.50/gal 1.77 1.51 1.08 0.65 0.22 Feasibility Assessment for Biomass Heating Systems Port Heiden, AK Coffman Engineers, Inc. 9 VI. Recommendations At this time, a wood fired biomass system at Port Heiden is not recommended. Wood pellets are too expensive to ship into the community. Driftwood is not present in enough quantities to make a viable biomass project. Due to these factors, an in-depth economic analysis is not justified and was not performed. The community does have other more cost effective ways to reduce energy costs in their community. It is recommended that Port Heiden pursue the following items:  Locate the past energy audit completed on Ray’s Place and complete all cost effective energy conservation measures. Upgrading the lighting to LED may be a cost effective improvement. Insulating heating piping could be another improvement.  Complete energy audits of other community and residential buildings.  A Conceptual Design Report is in progress by the Alaska Energy Authority for power plant upgrades that will add heat recovery capabilities. Using heat recovery from the power plant to heat community buildings is a cost effective way to reduce heating oil consumption.  Evaluate expanding wind power or adding solar photovoltaics to the community power grid.  The community expressed interest in processing and burning fish oil from waste that would be generated from a future fish processing plant. Fish oil has successfully been blended with diesel to create biodiesel in other locations. If a plant is built, it is recommended that a feasibility study be completed to evaluate the viability of using fish oil. More information on using fish oil for fuel can be found at http://www.akenergyauthority.org/Programs/AEEE/Biomass. Feasibility Assessment for Biomass Heating Systems Port Heiden, AK Coffman Engineers, Inc. 10 VII. Forest Resource and Fuel Availability Assessments Forest Resource Assessments There were no forest resource assessments found for the Port Heiden area. Air Quality Permitting Currently, air quality permitting is regulated according to the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation Section 18 AAC 50 Air Quality Control regulations. Per these regulations, a minor air quality permit is required if a new wood boiler or wood stove produces one of the following conditions per Section 18 AAC 50.502 (C)(1): 40 tons per year (TPY) of carbon dioxide (CO2), 15 TPY of particulate matter greater than 10 microns (PM-10), 40 TPY of sulfur dioxide, 0.6 TPY of lead, 100 TPY of carbon monoxide within 10 kilometers of a carbon monoxide nonattainment area, or 10 TPY of direct PM -2.5 emissions. These regulations assume that the device will operate 24 hours per day, 365 days per year and that no fuel burning equipment is used. If a new wood boiler or wood stove is installed in addition to a fuel burning heating device, the increase in air pollutants cannot exceed the following per AAC 50.502 (C)(3): 10 TPY of PM-10, 10 TPY of sulfur dioxide, 10 TPY of nitrogen oxides, 100 TPY of carbon monoxide within 10 kilometers of a carbon monoxide nonattainment area, or 10 TPY of direct PM-2.5 emissions. Per the Wood-fired Heating Device Visible Emission Standards (Section 18 AAC 50.075), a person may not operate a wood-fired heating device in a manner that causes black smoke or visible emissions that exceed 50 percent opacity for more than 15 minutes in any hour in an area where an air quality advisory is in effect. From Coffman’s discussions with Patrick Dunn at the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation, these regulations are focused on permitting industrial applications of wood burning equipment. In his opinion, it would be unlikely that an individual wood boiler would require an air quality permit unless several boilers were to be installed and operated at the same site. If several boilers were installed and operated together, the emissions produced could be greater than 40 tons of CO2 per year. This would require permitting per AAC 50.502 (C)(1) or (C)(3). Permitting would not be required on the residential wood fired stoves unless they violated the Wood-fired Heating Device Visible Emission Standards (Section 18 AAC 50.075). Recent Garn boiler systems installed in Alaska have not required air quality permits. Feasibility Assessment for Biomass Heating Systems Port Heiden, AK Coffman Engineers, Inc. 11 VIII. General Biomass Technology Information Heating with Wood Fuel Wood fuels are among the most cost-effective and reliable sources of heating fuel for communities adjacent to forestland when the wood fuels are processed, handled, and combusted appropriately. Compared to other heating energy fuels, such as oil and propane, wood fuels typically have lower energy density and higher associated transportation and handling costs. Due to this low bulk density, wood fuels have a shorter viable haul distance when compared to fossil fuels. This short haul distance also creates an advantage for local communities to utilize locally-sourced wood fuels, while simultaneously retaining local energy dollars. Most communities in rural Alaska are particularly vulnerable to high energy prices due to the large number of heating degree days and expensive shipping costs. For many communities, wood-fueled heating can lower fuel costs. For example, cordwood sourced at $250 per cord is just 25% of the cost per MMBTU as #1 fuel oil sourced at $7 per gallon. In addition to the financial savings, the local communities also benefit from the multiplier effect of circulating energy dollars within the community longer, more stable energy prices, job creation, and more active forest management. The local cordwood market is influenced by land ownership, existing forest management and ecological conditions, local demand and supply, and the State of Alaska Energy Assistance program. Types of Wood Fuel Wood fuels are specified by energy density, moisture content, ash content, and granulometry. Each of these characteristics affects the wood fuel’s handling characteristics, storage requirements, and combustion process. Higher quality fuels have lower moisture, ash, dirt, and rock contents, consistent granulometry, and higher energy density. Different types of fuel quality can be used in wood heating projects as long as the infrastructure specifications match the fuel content characteristics. Typically, lower quality fuel will be the lowest cost fuel, but it will require more expensive storage, handling, and combustion infrastructure, as well as additional maintenance. Projects in rural Alaska must be designed around the availability of wood fuels. Some fuels can be harvested and manufactured on site, such as cordwood, woodchips, and briquettes. Wood pellets can also be used, but typically require a larger scale pellet manufacturer to make them. The economic feasibility of manufacturing on site is determined by a financial assessment of the project. Typically, larger projects offer more flexibility in terms of owning and operating the wood harvesting and manufacturing equipment, such as a wood chipper, splitter, or equipment to haul wood out of forest, than smaller projects. Feasibility Assessment for Biomass Heating Systems Port Heiden, AK Coffman Engineers, Inc. 12 High Efficiency Wood Pellet Boilers High efficiency pellet boilers are designed to burn wood pellets cleanly and efficiently. These boilers utilize pellet storage bins or silos that hold a large percentage of the building’s annual p ellet supply. Augers or vacuums transfer pellets from the silos to a pellet hopper adjacent to the pellet boiler, where pellets can be fed into the boiler for burning. Pellets are automatically loaded into the pellet boiler and do not require manual loading such as in a Garn cordwood boiler. The pellet boilers typically have a 3 to 1 turn down ratio, which allows the firing rate to modulate from 100% down to 33% fire. This allows the boiler to properly match building heat demand, increasing boiler efficiency. The efficiencies of these boilers can range from 85% to 92% efficiency depending on firing rate. High Efficiency Cordwood Boilers High Efficiency Low Emission (HELE) cordwood boilers are designed to burn cordwood fuel cleanly and efficiently. The boilers use cordwood that is typically seasoned to 25% moisture content (MC) or less and meet the dimensions required for loading and firing. The amount of cordwood burned by the boiler will depend on the heat load profile of the building and the utilization of the fuel oil system as back up. Two HELE cordwood boiler suppliers include Garn (www.garn.com) and TarmUSA (www.woodboilers.com). Both of these suppliers have units operating in Alaska. TarmUSA has a number of residential units operating in Alaska and has models that range between 100,000 to 300,000 BTU/hr. Garn boilers, manufactured by Dectra Corporation, are used in Tanana, Kasilof, Dot Lake, Thorne Bay, Coffman Cove and other locations to heat homes, washaterias, schools, and community buildings. The Garn boiler has a unique construction, which is basically a wood boiler housed in a large water tank. Garn boilers come in several sizes and are appropriate for facilities using 100,000 to 1,000,000 BTUs per hour. The jacket of water surrounding the fire box absorbs heat and is piped into buildings via a heat exchanger, and then transferred to an existing building heating system, in-floor radiant tubing, unit heaters, or baseboard heaters. In installations where the Garn boiler is in a detached building, there are additional heat exchangers, pumps and a glycol circulation loop that are necessary to transfer heat to the building while allowing for freeze protection. Radiant floor heating is the most efficient heating method when using wood boilers such as Garns, because they can operate using lower supply water temperatures compared to baseboards. Garn boilers are approximately 87% efficient and store a large quantity of water. For example, the Garn WHS-2000 holds approximately 1,825 gallons of heated water. Garns also produce virtually no smoke when at full burn, because of a primary and secondary gasification (2,000 ºF) burning process. Garns are manually stocked with cordwood and can be loaded multiple times a day during periods of high heating demand. Garns are simple to operate with only three moving parts: a handle, door and blower. Garns produce very little ash and require minimal maintenance. Removing ash and inspecting fans are typical maintenance requirements. Fans are used to produce a draft that increases combustion temperatures and boiler efficiency. In cold climates, Garns can be equipped with exterior insulated storage tanks for extra hot water circulating capacity. Most facilities using cordwood boilers keep existing oil-fired systems operational to provide heating backup during biomass boiler downtimes and to provide additional heat for peak heating demand periods. Low Efficiency Cordwood Boilers Outdoor boilers are categorized as low-efficiency, high emission (LEHE) systems. These boiler systems are not recommended as they produce significant emission issues and do not combust wood fuels efficiently Feasibility Assessment for Biomass Heating Systems Port Heiden, AK Coffman Engineers, Inc. 13 or completely, resulting in significant energy waste and pollution. These systems require significantly more wood to be purchased, handled and combusted to heat a facility as compared to a HELE system. Additionally, several states have placed a moratorium on installing LEHE boilers because of air quality issues (Washington). These LEHE systems can have combustion efficiencies as low as 25% percent and produce more than nine times the emission rate of standard industrial boilers. In comparison, HELEs can operate around 87% efficiency. High Efficiency Wood Stoves Newer high efficiency wood stoves are available on the market that produce minimal smoke, minimal ash and require less firewood. New EPA-certified wood stoves produce significantly less smoke than older uncertified wood stoves. High efficiency wood stoves are easy to operate with minimal maintenance compared to other biomass systems. The Blaze King Classic high efficiency wood stove (www.blazeking.com) is a recommended model, due to its built-in thermostats that monitor the heat output of the stove. This stove automatically adjusts the air required for combustion. This unique technology, combined with the efficiencies of a catalytic combustor with a built-in thermostat, provides the longest burn times of any wood stove. The Blaze King stove allows for optimal combustion and less frequent loading and firing times. Bulk Fuel Boilers Bulk fuel boilers usually burn wood chips, sawdust, bark or pellets and are designed around the wood resources that are available from the local forests or local industry. Several large facilities in Tok, Craig, and Delta Junction (Delta Greely High School) are using bulk fuel biomass systems. Tok uses a commercial grinder to process woodchips. The chips are then dumped into a bin and are carried by a conveyor belt to the boiler. The wood fuel comes from timber scraps, local sawmills and forest thinning projects. The Delta Greely High School has a woodchip bulk fuel boiler that heats the 77,000 square foot facility. The Delta Greely system, designed by Coffman engineers, includes a completely separate boiler building which includes a chip storage bunker and space for storage of tractor trailers full of chips (so handling of frozen chips could be avoided). Woodchips are stored in the concrete bunker and augers move the material on a conveyor belt to the boilers. Grants There are state, federal, and local grant opportunities for biomass work for feasibility studies, design and construction. If a project is pursued, a thorough search of websites and discussions with the AEA Biomass group is recommended to make sure no possible funding opportunities are missed. Below are some funding opportunities and existing past grants that have been awarded. Currently, there is a funding opportunity for tribal communities that develop clean and renewable energy resources through the U.S. Department of Energy. The Energy Department’s Tribal Energy Program, in cooperation with the Office of Indian Energy, will help Native American communities, tribal energy resource development organizations, and tribal consortia to install community or facility scale clean energy projects. http://apps1.eere.energy.gov/tribalenergy/ The U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Development has over fifty financial assistance programs for a variety of rural applications. This includes energy efficiency and renewable energy programs. Feasibility Assessment for Biomass Heating Systems Port Heiden, AK Coffman Engineers, Inc. 14 http://www.rd.usda.gov/programs-services The Department of Energy (DOE), Alaska Native programs, focus on energy efficiency and add ocean energy into the mix. In addition, the communities are eligible for up to $250,000 in energy-efficiency aid. The Native village of Kongiganak will get help strengthening its wind-energy infrastructure, increasing energy efficiency and developing “smart grid technology”. Koyukuk will get help upgrading its energy infrastructure, improving energy efficiency and exploring biomass options. The village of Minto will explore all the above options as well as look for solar-energy ideas. Shishmaref, an Alaska Native village faced climate-change-induced relocation, will receive help with increasing energy sustainability and building capacity as it relocates. http://energy.gov/articles/alaska-native-communities-receive-technical-assistance-local-clean-energy- development The city of Nulato was awarded a $40,420 grant for engineering services for a wood energy project by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the United States Forest Service. Links regarding the award of the Woody Biomass Utilization Project recipients are shown below: http://www.fs.fed.us/news/2012/releases/07/renewablewoods.shtml http://www.usda.gov/wps/portal/usda/usdahome?contentid=2009/08/0403.xml Delta Junction was awarded a grant for engineering from the Alaska Energy Authority from the Renewable Energy Fund for $831,203. This fund provides assistance to utilities, independent power producers, local governments, and tribal governments for feasibility studies, reconnaissance studies, energy resource monitoring, and work related to the design and construction of eligible facilities. http://www.akenergyauthority.org/re-fund-6/4_Program_Update/FinalREFStatusAppendix2013.pdf http://www.akenergyauthority.org/PDF%20files/PFS-BiomassProgramFactSheet.pdf http://www.akenergyauthority.org/RenewableEnergyFund/RFA_Project_Locations_20Oct08.pdf The Alaska Wood Energy Development Task Group (AWEDTG) consists of a coalition of federal and state agencies and not-for-profit organizations that have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to explore opportunities to increase the utilization of wood for energy and biofuels production in Alaska. A pre-feasibility study for Aleknagik was conducted in 2012 for the AWEDTG. The preliminary costs for the biomass system(s) are $346,257 for the city hall and health center system and $439,096 for the city hall, health center, and future washateria system. http://www.akenergyauthority.org/biomasswoodenergygrants.html http://www.akenergyauthority.org/BiomassWoodEnergy/Aleknagik%20Final%20Report.pdf The Emerging Energy Technology Fund grand program provides funds to eligible applicants for demonstrations projects of technologies that have a reasonable expectation to be commercially viable within five years and that are designed to: test emerging energy technologies or methods of conserving energy, improve an existing energy technology, or deploy an existing technology that has not previously been demonstrated in Alaska. http://www.akenergyauthority.org/EETFundGrantProgram.html Feasibility Assessment for Biomass Heating Systems Port Heiden, AK Coffman Engineers, Inc. 15 Appendix A Site Photos Feasibility Assessment for Biomass Heating Systems Port Heiden, AK Coffman Engineers, Inc. 16 1. South elevation of building 2. West elevation of building 3. North elevation of building 4. East elevation of building 5. Main entrance 6. Approximate location of possible biomass building on north side of building Feasibility Assessment for Biomass Heating Systems Port Heiden, AK Coffman Engineers, Inc. 17 7. Storage structures for biomass fuel 8. Boiler Room 9. Electrical service 10. Panel in mechanical room Feasibility Assessment for Biomass Heating Systems Port Heiden, AK Coffman Engineers, Inc. 18 11. Heating oil tank 12. Driftwood 13. Driftwood 14. Driftwood Feasibility Assessment for Biomass Heating Systems Port Heiden, AK Coffman Engineers, Inc. Appendix B AWEDTG Field Data Sheet