Bill,
I realize that "sorting out the facts" is important, but I wonder how you will have time to personally investigate and validate information and/or contact independent experts for their corroboration or disagreement. Best of luck! Please let me know if you find information that you believe contradicts the positions and evidence I have provided.
I also wonder if we should conclude - based on your last posting - that you are likely to vote for wind energy development since it is likely to be supported by constituents who feel lining our ridges with huge wind turbines is at least "trying to the do right thing". I hope not. The road to h*ll is paved with good intentions. The majority of the US felt that President Bush's push to invade Iraq was "the right thing to do" - until they found out they were misled about its costs. Too bad the public wasn't better informed about the opinion of the 1st President Bush's Secretary of Defense - d*ck Cheney - who explained at the time that it would be folly for the US to take over Baghdad after kicking Saddam's troops out of Kuwait.
Would it be possible for you to make a motion to table a vote on Gamesa's request for permission to develop Ice Mountain, and try to convince your colleagues to sponsor a moderated informational meeting (aka, a debate) involving a proponent for the project (e.g., Gamesa) and an opponent (e.g., someone selected by Dr. Kotala)?
Windmills on Ice Mountain - Gamesa Wind Turbines
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windman
Re: Windmills on Ice Mountain
Beware Gamesa. This Spanish Company was brought here by Rendell and DEP secy Kate McGinty and promised free reign over our mountain ridges for their wind plants. Rendell and McGinty are actively promoting Gamesa to build wind plants anywhere they want. Since there are no statewide regs, DEP need only issue their erosion and sedimentation permit, which is a mere rubberstamp formality since their biggest promoter is the head of DEP, in order for construction to begin. That is, unless there is zoning in place to restrict such development. Zoning can stop them.
Gamesa, Rendell and DEP want Gamesa to built them anywhere the wind blows, regardless of the quality of the area they will destroy by the miles of heavy duty roads they need to build to get the turbines into the sites. And they DO destroy forested areas. Just go down to Myersdale and up to Blue Knob and see for yourself. Each site takes a 3 acre clearcut if they are the big 400' tall turbines. There are noise and shadow flicker issues for locals to deal with as well.
Local people get absolutely NOTHING from wind turbines. But locals will pay more for their electricity (because of artificial preferred pricing for wind power), will seetheir property values plummet and will have their local landscapes irreveribly scarred. And all the while the little power these things generate will be sent to the PJM grid and sucked to NY, NJ, Maryland and DC. Your bills will actually go up.
Those who benefit are the land owners who sign leases with Gamesa--they get as much as 7,000 a year for each wind turbine on their property. Gamesa and their mostly foreign investors also benefit as they take full advantage of the accellerated depreciation, production tax credits and subsidies that, taken together, pay for 70% of the cost of building the turbines. Not a bad deal, huh? Since the wind turbines are exempt from all PA, school, county and local taxes, they receive a huge windfall at the state level as well. Each turbine costs 2.5-3 million to build--yet they pay ZERO tax. What wind developers do, however, is offer money to township supervisors and other local officials to try to "buy" their loyalty. Gamesa has offered as much as $3,000 per turbine to other township supervisors in townships where they have faced opposition. Ask the Shade and Ogle twp supervisors in Somerset county what Gamesa offered them. This is how they operate.
Maybe Ice Mountain is an OK place to build these things. I don't know anything about ice mountain. But I do know how Gamesa operates and you people should carefully evaluate this and know who and what you are dealing with before you even begin to entertain any notions of letting them in. If you do, you must understand that this Spanish company will build its industrial plant, extract the governmant subsidies and handouts (paid for by your tax dollars) and will be GONE, leaving you all to deal with the aftermath. Think about this long and hard. good luck with your decision.
Gamesa, Rendell and DEP want Gamesa to built them anywhere the wind blows, regardless of the quality of the area they will destroy by the miles of heavy duty roads they need to build to get the turbines into the sites. And they DO destroy forested areas. Just go down to Myersdale and up to Blue Knob and see for yourself. Each site takes a 3 acre clearcut if they are the big 400' tall turbines. There are noise and shadow flicker issues for locals to deal with as well.
Local people get absolutely NOTHING from wind turbines. But locals will pay more for their electricity (because of artificial preferred pricing for wind power), will seetheir property values plummet and will have their local landscapes irreveribly scarred. And all the while the little power these things generate will be sent to the PJM grid and sucked to NY, NJ, Maryland and DC. Your bills will actually go up.
Those who benefit are the land owners who sign leases with Gamesa--they get as much as 7,000 a year for each wind turbine on their property. Gamesa and their mostly foreign investors also benefit as they take full advantage of the accellerated depreciation, production tax credits and subsidies that, taken together, pay for 70% of the cost of building the turbines. Not a bad deal, huh? Since the wind turbines are exempt from all PA, school, county and local taxes, they receive a huge windfall at the state level as well. Each turbine costs 2.5-3 million to build--yet they pay ZERO tax. What wind developers do, however, is offer money to township supervisors and other local officials to try to "buy" their loyalty. Gamesa has offered as much as $3,000 per turbine to other township supervisors in townships where they have faced opposition. Ask the Shade and Ogle twp supervisors in Somerset county what Gamesa offered them. This is how they operate.
Maybe Ice Mountain is an OK place to build these things. I don't know anything about ice mountain. But I do know how Gamesa operates and you people should carefully evaluate this and know who and what you are dealing with before you even begin to entertain any notions of letting them in. If you do, you must understand that this Spanish company will build its industrial plant, extract the governmant subsidies and handouts (paid for by your tax dollars) and will be GONE, leaving you all to deal with the aftermath. Think about this long and hard. good luck with your decision.
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sandstone
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Re: Windmills on Ice Mountain
An unbiased assessment of the conservation value of Ice Mountain was done by the Blair County Planning Commission through the Blair County Natural Heritage Inventory about 5 years ago. Ice Mountain and its surrounding area were designated as a Landscape Conservation Area (Allegheny Front #1 LCA) and County Natural Heritage Area of Exceptional Significance. It was so designated because Ice Mountain represents a large block of unfragmented forest habitat important to forest-interior species, such as the bobcat, the fisher, the black-throated blue warbler, the black-throated green warbler, the scarlet tanager, and the hermit thrush. No major roads or infrastructure disrupt the forest's continuity.windman wrote:Maybe Ice Mountain is an OK place to build these things. I don't know anything about ice mountain.
The Executive Summary of the Blair County Natural Heritage Inventory describes Landscape Conservation Areas as “large contiguous areas that are important because of their size, open space, habitats, and/or inclusion of one or more Biological Diversity Areas.” It goes on to say;
“These large regions in relatively natural condition can be viewed as regional assets; they improve quality of life by providing a landscape imbued with a sense of beauty and wilderness, they provide a sustainable economic base, and their high ecological integrity offers unique capacity to support biodiversity and human health. Planning and stewardship efforts can preserve these functions of the landscape by limiting the overall amount of land converted to other uses, thereby minimizing fragmentation of these areas.”
Ice Mountain and its surrounding area were also designated as Greenways in the revision of the Blair County Comprehensive Plan; which was based on public comments received in 2002-2005 . Greenways are areas where the preservation of the natural landscape should be given first priority. The Areawide Comprehensive Plan for Blair County (adopted by the Blair County Commissioners last year) states;
“The ridge tops in Blair County are one of its defining characteristics. As one looks in any direction, the mountain ridges dominate the landscape. They demonstrate the power and constancy of the natural forces that shaped them. Development along ridge tops should be discouraged so that their imposing beauty is preserved. Ridge lines that should be conserved are the Allegheny Front and Dunning, Short, Loop, Lock, Brush, Bald Eagle, Canoe, and Tussey Mountains.”
Were a “wind farm” to be built on Ice Mountain then the “wind farm,” not the mountain, would dominate the landscape. It is hard to imagine a more shocking and obtrusive feature on the mountain than arrays of 450-foot tall towers with 140-foot long whirling blades.
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sandstone
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Re: Windmills on Ice Mountain
The proposed Ice Mountain Wind Farm (aka Sandy Ridge Wind Farm)'s location is in Snyder Township, Blair County and Taylor Township, Centre County. Neither township has zoning. Most of Blair County's townships where windplants have been proposed have enacted very good ordinances that protect both the township's natural heritage and its residents. Snyder Township (where the Tyrone Borough portion of the windplant will be located) is still working on their industrial windplant ordinance. Keys to a good ordinance in municipalities without zoning include setbacks of at least 2,500' from a turbine to a house (or hunting camp), 1,000' to an adjacent nonparticipating landowner's property line, 500' to wetlands and streams (probably should be 1,000 in a municipal water supply), and a noise limit of 45dB(C) as measured at an adjacent nonparticipating landowner's property line. Antis, Tyrone, Frankstown, and Logan Townships have elected to protect County Natural Heritage Areas, Important Bird Areas, and Important Mammal Areas in their ordinances. Antis Township's ordinance is the only one on the web and is available at http://antistownship.org/antis/cwp/view ... &antisNav=|windman wrote:Beware Gamesa. This Spanish Company was brought here by Rendell and DEP secy Kate McGinty and promised free reign over our mountain ridges for their wind plants. Rendell and McGinty are actively promoting Gamesa to build wind plants anywhere they want. Since there are no statewide regs, DEP need only issue their erosion and sedimentation permit, which is a mere rubberstamp formality since their biggest promoter is the head of DEP, in order for construction to begin. That is, unless there is zoning in place to restrict such development. Zoning can stop them.
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Something to say
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Re: Windmills on Ice Mountain
Nobody said you have to believe what others believe. And comparing this subject to people's preferences for dogs and cats is ridiculous. But as a councilman, you certainly should be taking all this very seriously. People trust you to be their voice or to at least hear their voice. I have not read one post from this community that is in favor of the turbines other than yours. And yet you keep singing the praises of the wind turbines on Ice Mountain. It seems to me that this is a done deal and you are ignoring these posts altogether. You also mentioned in a more recent post that we are not selling the land but leasing it. Let me ask you something Bill..... years from now...when the lease is over, and we've learned first hand that the turbines were mostly ineffective, how many years do you think it will take for Ice Mountain to recover from the development? And... does Tyrone NEED the money so badly that we're willing to take that beautiful mountain...for nothing in the end?Bill Latchford
As I have said I have heard what has been relayed by Juniata Valley Audubon Society. They have said nothing new since then. I believe we have the latest and greatest information right here in this forum, which is in abondance and so useful. And I say this with the utmost respect, it is invaluable information. There isn't a soul who will deny that. The thing is what I beleieve and what someone else believes dosn't have to be the same. One person may love dogs and One may love cats....Is one right over the other? I know that was really belittleing the subject at hand, but I do not have to have the same ideals as the other guy. We are individuals and this is the United States of America where you can hate my guts for not believing in what you believe in, but guess what I can still do it just the same. Heck I have even had threats here saying that a person would make a politicians life miserable if they could if they had anything to do with a windmill going up by their property. That type of thinking is so detrimental to society at large. We work for the gretter good. If the majority of Council feels that WindMills would be a great thing for our community then they feel they are helping the greater good. No matter which way the votes swing in this matter someone will be unhappy. You can't please everyone.
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150thBucktailCo.I
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Re: Windmills on Ice Mountain
windman wrote:Beware Gamesa. This Spanish Company was brought here by Rendell and DEP secy Kate McGinty ...
Therein lies the very source of the problem!
:mob:
PS.. GREAT POST WINDMAN!!!
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George M.
Re: Windmills on Ice Mountain
I just found on FERC's website the Electric Quarterly Report filing by Gamesa showing how much electricity their 80 MW Allegheny Ridge Wind Farm generated in all of July, August and September of this year. PA's newest and largest "wind farm" produced only 14,604 MWh over this 3 month period, which shows the facility operated on average at less than 8% of its maximum ability (i.e., at under 8% "Capacity Factor"). For contrast, nuclear powerplants operate at close to 100% Capacity Factor during summer months (and many operate at 95% Capacity Factor and most exceed 90% on an annual basis).
FYI, Capacity Factor is the ratio between the amount of electricity a powerplant actually produces over a given period, divided by how much electricity it could produce if it continually operated at its maximum potential during the entire period. "Wind Farms" so far built in our region have operated at under 30% Capacity Factor on an annual basis, and under 15% Capacity Factor during the 3 month summer period (e.g., July - Sept). Coal-fired powerplants operate on average with an annual Capacity Factor of about 80%, and they operate with a similar Capacity Factor during summer-time.
The FERC filing also indicated how much per MWh Gamesa received by selling the electricity produced by the Allegheny Ridge Wind Farm - $65 per MWh, which is considerably more than the $45/MWh figure I used in my example which estimated "wind farm" revenues. Despite the poor performance of the Allegheny Ridge Wind Farm, Gamesa still was able to collect over $900,000 in revenue for just 3 months of operation.
FYI, Capacity Factor is the ratio between the amount of electricity a powerplant actually produces over a given period, divided by how much electricity it could produce if it continually operated at its maximum potential during the entire period. "Wind Farms" so far built in our region have operated at under 30% Capacity Factor on an annual basis, and under 15% Capacity Factor during the 3 month summer period (e.g., July - Sept). Coal-fired powerplants operate on average with an annual Capacity Factor of about 80%, and they operate with a similar Capacity Factor during summer-time.
The FERC filing also indicated how much per MWh Gamesa received by selling the electricity produced by the Allegheny Ridge Wind Farm - $65 per MWh, which is considerably more than the $45/MWh figure I used in my example which estimated "wind farm" revenues. Despite the poor performance of the Allegheny Ridge Wind Farm, Gamesa still was able to collect over $900,000 in revenue for just 3 months of operation.
Re: Windmills on Ice Mountain
Sandstone presents factual information collected by professional ecologists working for the Blair County Planning Commission. The Blair County Natural Heritage Inventory gives Ice Mountain the highest possible ranking in ecological value. It's impossible to have all the infrastructure associated with a wind farm and still have a "unique" area "of exceptional conservation value." I'd like to know why Bill Latchford has no respect for the Inventory.sandstone wrote:An unbiased assessment of the conservation value of Ice Mountain was done by the Blair County Planning Commission through the Blair County Natural Heritage Inventory about 5 years ago. Ice Mountain and its surrounding area were designated as a Landscape Conservation Area (Allegheny Front #1 LCA) and County Natural Heritage Area of Exceptional Significance. It was so designated because Ice Mountain represents a large block of unfragmented forest habitat important to forest-interior species, such as the bobcat, the fisher, the black-throated blue warbler, the black-throated green warbler, the scarlet tanager, and the hermit thrush. No major roads or infrastructure disrupt the forest's continuity.windman wrote:Maybe Ice Mountain is an OK place to build these things. I don't know anything about ice mountain.
The Executive Summary of the Blair County Natural Heritage Inventory describes Landscape Conservation Areas as “large contiguous areas that are important because of their size, open space, habitats, and/or inclusion of one or more Biological Diversity Areas.” It goes on to say;
“These large regions in relatively natural condition can be viewed as regional assets; they improve quality of life by providing a landscape imbued with a sense of beauty and wilderness, they provide a sustainable economic base, and their high ecological integrity offers unique capacity to support biodiversity and human health. Planning and stewardship efforts can preserve these functions of the landscape by limiting the overall amount of land converted to other uses, thereby minimizing fragmentation of these areas.”
Ice Mountain and its surrounding area were also designated as Greenways in the revision of the Blair County Comprehensive Plan; which was based on public comments received in 2002-2005 . Greenways are areas where the preservation of the natural landscape should be given first priority. The Areawide Comprehensive Plan for Blair County (adopted by the Blair County Commissioners last year) states;
“The ridge tops in Blair County are one of its defining characteristics. As one looks in any direction, the mountain ridges dominate the landscape. They demonstrate the power and constancy of the natural forces that shaped them. Development along ridge tops should be discouraged so that their imposing beauty is preserved. Ridge lines that should be conserved are the Allegheny Front and Dunning, Short, Loop, Lock, Brush, Bald Eagle, Canoe, and Tussey Mountains.”
Were a “wind farm” to be built on Ice Mountain then the “wind farm,” not the mountain, would dominate the landscape. It is hard to imagine a more shocking and obtrusive feature on the mountain than arrays of 450-foot tall towers with 140-foot long whirling blades.
Re: Windmills on Ice Mountain
RIGHT ON!sandstone wrote:I agree with Something To Say. The vast majority of Tyrone residents, and Snyder Township residents, haven't been exposed to enough information regarding the proposed development of Ice Mountain into an industrial windplant. In addition, people have been so bombarded with endlessly repeated slogans about wind energy that very few ask how many windplants will be needed to make a significant dent in air pollution and global warming. I think that George M.'s posts give us the answers to those questions. You'll notice that George M. is always able to back up his opinions with facts.
In reviewing all the posts and all the facts associated with the Ice Mountain windplant proposal, I can definitely say that 10, 20, or 30 industrial wind turbines on Ice Mountain will have no effect on air pollution or global warming, and will provide about 2 permanent jobs. I can also definitely say that these 10, 20, or 30 turbines, miles of new heavy-duty road, transmission line corridors, substations, and associated infrastructure will significantly degrade an area that is described as "unique" and "of exceptional conservation value" in the Blair County Natural Heritage Inventory, one that has been designated a Landscape Conservation Area because of its large expanses of forest free from permanent fragmenting infrastructure. Ice Mountain deserves the highest level of protection.
Re: Windmills on Ice Mountain
I was at the Borough Council meeting about 2 months ago when Dr. Kotala and about 40 opponents of the proposed Ice Mt wind farm made their case before council. When Dr. Kotala finished his presentation (given on behalf of Audubon) he was met with a round of loud applause from the audience. The council members, however, gave no indication that they had any questions to ask of Dr. Kotala, limited his presentation to 5 min, and just sat there stony-faced and unresponsive. At no time did they indicated that they wanted any more information on this matter. I also know that each council member received a 1" thick binder filled with info about Ice Mt and industrial wind farms from Audubon last year, as well as several follow-up letters from Audubon president Kotala. I also know that hundreds of Audobon members sent postcards to Mayor Kilmartin opposing this project.Bill Latchford wrote: There is a workshop meeting to start budget proceedings on November 5th at 7:00 pm, and Gamesa, I believe will be there. There will also be the main Council meeting on November 13th to address the Gamesa plan. Both these meetings are public as with all of our Council meetings.
If I did not address some issues sorry, ask again and I will try, just trying to be accessible and still do my day job...Take
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SoccerMom
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Re: Windmills on Ice Mountain
Here's another possible source of renewable energy that I don't believe has been brought up:
Benton’s Biomass Boiler Project Fuels Interest
Submitted by Editor on Fri, 10/19/2007 - 1:57pm.
CAROLYN N. MOYER
Northern Pa. Correspondent
BENTON, Pa — The motivation behind Benton Area School District’s plan to install a biomass boiler system to heat two schools is simple: utilize a renewable resource for fuel while energizing the local economy.
The Columbia County school district is weaving together resources from across Pennsylvania with local farmers to make the project feasible.
“This has certainly been a collaborative effort and we have appreciated the support of the department of agriculture, our local legislators and Penn State University for all of their encouragement,” said Gary Powlus, superintendent of the Benton Area Schools.
Pennsylvania Secretary of Agriculture Dennis Wolff made a visit to the rural Columbia County school during his fifth annual harvest tour, focusing on renewable alternative energy sources. The goal is to have the total system fired up by this time next year.
“Congratulations,” said Secretary Wolff, “This is exciting. It’s an interesting concept.”
Natural Resources Conservation Service grazing specialist Kris Ribble brought the proposal to use renewable fuel sources to the school district in a plan that would reduce the overall heating bill and benefit area farmers.
“We brought Kris in and he gave us some ideas and suggestions and we thought this certainly is worth more investigation,” said Powlus
Scott Singer, NRCS biologist, and Ryan Koch, Pocono Northeast RC&D coordinator joined the effort of promoting the idea to the school board and, after some discussion and investigation, the board decided to move forward with the project. They began by applying for a Pennsylvania Energy Harvest Grant which was actually funded as a Pennsylvania Energy Development Authority grant (PEDA), and were awarded $350,000 for the purchase of and installation of a biomass boiler. A second Pennsylvania Energy Harvest grant application to fund the underground piping and electrical service upgrades has been applied for this year. Total project costs are estimated to be $1.3 million. The system will be backed up with oil.
The school is also involved in an extensive energy audit by Pennsylvania Power and Light (PP&L).
“They’ll work with our entire project,” said Beverly Ribble, business manager for the Benton Area School District.
A technical steering committee consisting of Dave Shimmel, energy engineer with the Department of Environmental Protection, members of the Benton Area School board and representatives from the community sat down to make the plans become reality.
The first phase is installing a biomass boiler. Because the school district officials wanted optional energy sources including corn, wood chips, wood pellets and switchgrass pellets, the boiler is being specially designed and built by Advanced Recycling Equipment, of St. Mary’s, Pa. When installed, the boiler would be located in a central service building. Underground piping would allow the heat to move to both the elementary and the junior/senior high school buildings.
Garage doors on each side of the building will allow tractor trailer loads of fuel to be dumped into a 10-foot deep pit. An auger at the bottom of the pit will automatically carry the fuel stock to the burner. The building will be designed so that anyone from the community can watch the system in action.
“I feel one of the reasons we got this grant was the fact that we have an educational component to this. In our design, our plan is to put windows and a separate door for students and people from the community to come in and see this process in action,” said Powlus.
“We’re looking at a flexible fuel system,” said Powlus. “I’m not aware of one (boiler) anywhere else that can utilize several different kinds of fuel stocks.”
This is where the farmer comes into the equation. Benton Area School District is located within an area where more than 50 percent of the population is involved in agriculture. With total enrollment of about 500 students in grades kindergarten through 12, it is a relatively small school. It also has a very active FFA program, drawing more than 100 active members in grades 9 through 12. Many of those active FFA members are from the non-farming population.
“Being in a rural area with over 50 percent of the population in agriculture, our plans are to be able to burn corn, switchgrass pellets, wood chips or wood pellets, thus enabling our district to go to our local farmers and have them become a part of this project,” said Powlus. “We have two feed mills within two miles of our district where local farmers bring their corn, which would then be able to supply our corn.”
Ernst Conservation Seeds, LLC, has jumped on board, promising the district two years’ worth of heat utilizing switchgrass pellets, a savings to the district of $110,000.
Ribble, Singer and Koch are also working together to bring the farmer into the equation by helping them establish new fields of switchgrass.
“Around 300 acres of new grassland have been established specifically for this purpose which is probably in excess of 150 acres of what it will take to heat the school every year,” said Scott Singer, USDA Wildlife biologist.
It takes three years to establish a switchgrass crop. Harvest for grass pellets should be done in the spring so the grass can be as dry as possible. Also, the longer the grass stays in the field, the more nutrients return to the soil, lowering the ash content of the standing blades.
“Switchgrass is a warm season grass,” said Singer. “You can harvest it in the spring before the year’s growth begins.”
Besides offering an additional income source for farmers, the switchgrass plots also provide excellent wildlife habitat.
The market for the crop and the establishment of the crop are now growing at the same pace.
“If the economics are there,” said Secretary Wolff, “It won’t take long for the farmers to get on board. That’s just the way it works. Farmers are good businessmen. They’ll take a look at it and if the economics are there, they’ll do it. Switchgrass is so attractive because it can be grown on lower quality soils and even highly erodible ground.”
The idea is already growing.
“Specifically, this year, we did biomass production plantings that were divided up between 16 different farmers,” said Singer. “Those people are stepping up to the plate and saying look, here’s ground that I’m just spinning my wheels on, let’s do something different here and this sounds like it’s going to work. Ultimately, though, it is always going to come down to net profit per acre. That’s what this whole thing is going to be geared toward is trying to maximize this for our farmers.”
Another benefit of the biomass boiler is the potential to reduce air pollution by 88 percent. The school district also hopes to lower fuel expenses. Last year’s fuel bill for the two schools was about $126,000.
“Just think about how much of that $126,000 ended up in the Persian Gulf and then think about keeping those dollars right here in Columbia County. Just think of that economic input,” said Wolff.
A mobile pelletizer, which was unveiled at Ag Progress Days, is the third component of the system. This machine, when purchased, will be housed at the Pocono Northeast RC&D council and will allow farmers to pelletize the switchgrass onsite.
The idea of forming a farmer-owned cooperative to purchase equipment like a mobile pelletizer is also in the works.
“Maybe that cooperative can also help with marketing that product,” said Ribble.
When the system is fired up next fall, all eyes will be on Benton, a small, rural district, with the potential to make history.
“This is something that the community can take a great deal of pride in. Historically on the plains, the schools were heated with grass. When this boiler fires up, we have the potential to be the first school in the country to heat with native grass pellets,” said Singer.
While in the region, Secretary Wolff made a stop at Boyd Station, LLC, of Danville. The facility was recently upgraded to include a soybean processor which will crush soybeans to make oil for biofuels.
Benton’s Biomass Boiler Project Fuels Interest
Submitted by Editor on Fri, 10/19/2007 - 1:57pm.
CAROLYN N. MOYER
Northern Pa. Correspondent
BENTON, Pa — The motivation behind Benton Area School District’s plan to install a biomass boiler system to heat two schools is simple: utilize a renewable resource for fuel while energizing the local economy.
The Columbia County school district is weaving together resources from across Pennsylvania with local farmers to make the project feasible.
“This has certainly been a collaborative effort and we have appreciated the support of the department of agriculture, our local legislators and Penn State University for all of their encouragement,” said Gary Powlus, superintendent of the Benton Area Schools.
Pennsylvania Secretary of Agriculture Dennis Wolff made a visit to the rural Columbia County school during his fifth annual harvest tour, focusing on renewable alternative energy sources. The goal is to have the total system fired up by this time next year.
“Congratulations,” said Secretary Wolff, “This is exciting. It’s an interesting concept.”
Natural Resources Conservation Service grazing specialist Kris Ribble brought the proposal to use renewable fuel sources to the school district in a plan that would reduce the overall heating bill and benefit area farmers.
“We brought Kris in and he gave us some ideas and suggestions and we thought this certainly is worth more investigation,” said Powlus
Scott Singer, NRCS biologist, and Ryan Koch, Pocono Northeast RC&D coordinator joined the effort of promoting the idea to the school board and, after some discussion and investigation, the board decided to move forward with the project. They began by applying for a Pennsylvania Energy Harvest Grant which was actually funded as a Pennsylvania Energy Development Authority grant (PEDA), and were awarded $350,000 for the purchase of and installation of a biomass boiler. A second Pennsylvania Energy Harvest grant application to fund the underground piping and electrical service upgrades has been applied for this year. Total project costs are estimated to be $1.3 million. The system will be backed up with oil.
The school is also involved in an extensive energy audit by Pennsylvania Power and Light (PP&L).
“They’ll work with our entire project,” said Beverly Ribble, business manager for the Benton Area School District.
A technical steering committee consisting of Dave Shimmel, energy engineer with the Department of Environmental Protection, members of the Benton Area School board and representatives from the community sat down to make the plans become reality.
The first phase is installing a biomass boiler. Because the school district officials wanted optional energy sources including corn, wood chips, wood pellets and switchgrass pellets, the boiler is being specially designed and built by Advanced Recycling Equipment, of St. Mary’s, Pa. When installed, the boiler would be located in a central service building. Underground piping would allow the heat to move to both the elementary and the junior/senior high school buildings.
Garage doors on each side of the building will allow tractor trailer loads of fuel to be dumped into a 10-foot deep pit. An auger at the bottom of the pit will automatically carry the fuel stock to the burner. The building will be designed so that anyone from the community can watch the system in action.
“I feel one of the reasons we got this grant was the fact that we have an educational component to this. In our design, our plan is to put windows and a separate door for students and people from the community to come in and see this process in action,” said Powlus.
“We’re looking at a flexible fuel system,” said Powlus. “I’m not aware of one (boiler) anywhere else that can utilize several different kinds of fuel stocks.”
This is where the farmer comes into the equation. Benton Area School District is located within an area where more than 50 percent of the population is involved in agriculture. With total enrollment of about 500 students in grades kindergarten through 12, it is a relatively small school. It also has a very active FFA program, drawing more than 100 active members in grades 9 through 12. Many of those active FFA members are from the non-farming population.
“Being in a rural area with over 50 percent of the population in agriculture, our plans are to be able to burn corn, switchgrass pellets, wood chips or wood pellets, thus enabling our district to go to our local farmers and have them become a part of this project,” said Powlus. “We have two feed mills within two miles of our district where local farmers bring their corn, which would then be able to supply our corn.”
Ernst Conservation Seeds, LLC, has jumped on board, promising the district two years’ worth of heat utilizing switchgrass pellets, a savings to the district of $110,000.
Ribble, Singer and Koch are also working together to bring the farmer into the equation by helping them establish new fields of switchgrass.
“Around 300 acres of new grassland have been established specifically for this purpose which is probably in excess of 150 acres of what it will take to heat the school every year,” said Scott Singer, USDA Wildlife biologist.
It takes three years to establish a switchgrass crop. Harvest for grass pellets should be done in the spring so the grass can be as dry as possible. Also, the longer the grass stays in the field, the more nutrients return to the soil, lowering the ash content of the standing blades.
“Switchgrass is a warm season grass,” said Singer. “You can harvest it in the spring before the year’s growth begins.”
Besides offering an additional income source for farmers, the switchgrass plots also provide excellent wildlife habitat.
The market for the crop and the establishment of the crop are now growing at the same pace.
“If the economics are there,” said Secretary Wolff, “It won’t take long for the farmers to get on board. That’s just the way it works. Farmers are good businessmen. They’ll take a look at it and if the economics are there, they’ll do it. Switchgrass is so attractive because it can be grown on lower quality soils and even highly erodible ground.”
The idea is already growing.
“Specifically, this year, we did biomass production plantings that were divided up between 16 different farmers,” said Singer. “Those people are stepping up to the plate and saying look, here’s ground that I’m just spinning my wheels on, let’s do something different here and this sounds like it’s going to work. Ultimately, though, it is always going to come down to net profit per acre. That’s what this whole thing is going to be geared toward is trying to maximize this for our farmers.”
Another benefit of the biomass boiler is the potential to reduce air pollution by 88 percent. The school district also hopes to lower fuel expenses. Last year’s fuel bill for the two schools was about $126,000.
“Just think about how much of that $126,000 ended up in the Persian Gulf and then think about keeping those dollars right here in Columbia County. Just think of that economic input,” said Wolff.
A mobile pelletizer, which was unveiled at Ag Progress Days, is the third component of the system. This machine, when purchased, will be housed at the Pocono Northeast RC&D council and will allow farmers to pelletize the switchgrass onsite.
The idea of forming a farmer-owned cooperative to purchase equipment like a mobile pelletizer is also in the works.
“Maybe that cooperative can also help with marketing that product,” said Ribble.
When the system is fired up next fall, all eyes will be on Benton, a small, rural district, with the potential to make history.
“This is something that the community can take a great deal of pride in. Historically on the plains, the schools were heated with grass. When this boiler fires up, we have the potential to be the first school in the country to heat with native grass pellets,” said Singer.
While in the region, Secretary Wolff made a stop at Boyd Station, LLC, of Danville. The facility was recently upgraded to include a soybean processor which will crush soybeans to make oil for biofuels.
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inmybackyard
Re: Windmills on Ice Mountain
I have the destinction of having 6 wind turbines sourrounding my farm in blue knob.
There won't be any maps for the community to see/approve for Gamesa doesn't allow this info to get out. Don't be surprised that what ever is told to the community is only 1/2 true. My neighbors did not know any details until construction was begun-thereby making any revisions impossible. Sine most were defective, the operational phase was delayed until this early summer. The noise, on a rather frequent occuance, is unbelievable. Imagine a low flying large jet airplane circling your home every 3-4 seconds, oh and it never lands. This goes on for hours-days at a time. Now you may say, isn't there a noise ordinance for machines/industry in your township?
why yes there is, in fact the ordinance for these turbines is specific to a decibel level
of 45. Every resource tells me that this is equivelent to a refridgerator running. All I can say is that at times, I can hear this inside my home, doors and windows closed, OVER my refridgerator. Our township has agreed to "look into this further" and Babcock and Brown (bought Phase 1 from Gamesa) think they "may need to research this" as well. Our summer and fall events outside were ruined, we need to have fans running at night to drown out the noise in our bedroom, as well as the stress caused by the vibrations and loud sounds is effecting our lives dramatically. Careful placement of the turbines -far away from anyone- can avoid all the noise issues. The information available on this topic is everywhere-be educated- before drastically changing your community, especially when there is so much $$$ clouding the issue.
There won't be any maps for the community to see/approve for Gamesa doesn't allow this info to get out. Don't be surprised that what ever is told to the community is only 1/2 true. My neighbors did not know any details until construction was begun-thereby making any revisions impossible. Sine most were defective, the operational phase was delayed until this early summer. The noise, on a rather frequent occuance, is unbelievable. Imagine a low flying large jet airplane circling your home every 3-4 seconds, oh and it never lands. This goes on for hours-days at a time. Now you may say, isn't there a noise ordinance for machines/industry in your township?
why yes there is, in fact the ordinance for these turbines is specific to a decibel level
of 45. Every resource tells me that this is equivelent to a refridgerator running. All I can say is that at times, I can hear this inside my home, doors and windows closed, OVER my refridgerator. Our township has agreed to "look into this further" and Babcock and Brown (bought Phase 1 from Gamesa) think they "may need to research this" as well. Our summer and fall events outside were ruined, we need to have fans running at night to drown out the noise in our bedroom, as well as the stress caused by the vibrations and loud sounds is effecting our lives dramatically. Careful placement of the turbines -far away from anyone- can avoid all the noise issues. The information available on this topic is everywhere-be educated- before drastically changing your community, especially when there is so much $$$ clouding the issue.
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My2Cents
- MVP Member
- Posts: 1132
- Joined: Wed May 30, 2007 2:49 pm
- If Mike has 13 apples, and gives six to Jane, how many does he have left?: 13
- Location: Tyrone, PA
Re: Windmills on Ice Mountain
This is very serious business Mr. "zapatista"... however, your depiction of the events that are being put forth on this subject is very good!! Sometimes you do have to draw a picture !! Sometimes, that's the only way they get it. Thank You !!! :thumb:
Last edited by My2Cents on Fri Oct 26, 2007 12:49 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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kayaker-one
- New Member
- Posts: 12
- Joined: Tue Oct 23, 2007 7:56 am
Re: Windmills on Ice Mountain
George, I've looked at the FERC site, as well, and have a few questions. Could you explain the difference between the two folders? One shows what you stated: a transaction quantity of 14064, and the other spreadsheet shows a quantity of 430000 MWH. What is the difference?George M. wrote:I just found on FERC's website the Electric Quarterly Report filing by Gamesa showing how much electricity their 80 MW Allegheny Ridge Wind Farm generated in all of July, August and September of this year. PA's newest and largest "wind farm" produced only 14,604 MWh over this 3 month period, which shows the facility operated on average at less than 8% of its maximum ability (i.e., at under 8% "Capacity Factor"). For contrast, nuclear powerplants operate at close to 100% Capacity Factor during summer months (and many operate at 95% Capacity Factor and most exceed 90% on an annual basis).
If it isn't too much trouble, could you walk us through the math showing us how you came up with the 8% capacity factor?
Finally, and I apologize for asking so much, what other PA wind companies are listed in FERC? I found Casselman, which isn't in operation yet, but can't find any others.
Sorry to be so helpless, but there is a big learning curve here. -Kayaker-one