News for the ‘Biomass’ Category
The $2 million biomass facility at Edwards-Knox Central School District in St. Lawrence County marked its one year anniversary Feb. 2.
Now that the boiler has been operating for a full year, annual savings are estimated at $135,000 to $140,000, Albert “John” Daniels Jr., the district’s superintendent of buildings and grounds, told the Watertown Daily-Times.
Edwards Knox is one of the first school districts in the region to operate a biomass facility. The project was fully paid for by state aid money and state Expanding our Children’s Education and Learning aid awarded to the district four years ago. School officials from several other area districts have toured the operation to help determine if they want to pursue a similar endeavor.
If Edwards-Knox still relied on fuel oil to heat its building complex, Daniels said, about $200,000 would have been budgeted for energy expenses this school year. That compares with $35,000 the district has in this year’s budget to purchase 700 tons of wood chips. He also said that unlike fuel oil, spending for wood chips supports the local economy because the chips are produced and purchased from Curran Renewables in Massena.
On a subzero degree day, 10 tons of wood chips costing about $500 are used to heat the school, which equates to 650 gallons of fuel oil,at an estimated cost of $1,650, Daniels said.
The story can be found here: http://www.watertowndailytimes.com/article/20110130/NEWS05/301309941
Heating Oil Sales by Region, 2008
The national news about fuel prices and their impact on the economy presents challenges for the region.
With the Northeast heavily dependent on heating oil (see chart), this instability in energy costs will be felt around the region, especially in rural areas where heating oil is the primary source for heat.
The rise in prices will not impact all people equally. It is likely to hit harder for people with limited income, and where the housing stock is older and less energy efficient.
When prices go up, households have to figure out what to cut back on to make up the difference.
Take for example, Franklin County, where in 2000, 71 percent of housing units use heating oil or kerosene (Source: New York State energy profiles, NYSERDA)
New York residents saw an increase of 69 percent in the cost of #2 heating oil from April 2009 to today’s prices. A household using 1,000 gallons of fuel a year would have to find an additional $1,610 just to stay even, a sizable amount when average annual household income in Franklin County is $44,374.
For that same household, converting to a wood-based system could bring significant savings.
The opportunity from pellet furnaces is a way to start reducing our oil dependence.
Steve Erman, president of Adirondack North Country Association and Kate Fish, the organization’s Executive Director, will present an overview of ANCA’s involvement in Northern Forest initiatives at a meeting October 25 hosted by the Tug Hill Commission.
The Tug Hill Commission has organized a series of conversations to coincide with a visit from Sandford “Sandy” Blitz, Federal Co-chair of the Northern Border Regional Commission. Blitz will talk about the formation of the commission and the economic development work it is undertaking in the Northern Border states of New York, Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine.
Workshop to focus on lean manufacturing
The Regional Wood Products Consortium – a collaboration between Sustainable Forest Futures (SFF) and the wood products manufacturing industry in Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, and northern New York – is conducting a series of specialized one-day innovation workshops for wood products companies. Their next workshop is on Lean Manufacturing for Small and Medium Sized Wood Products Companies. The sessions in the Adirondack North Country Region are on Nov. 3, 2010 in Glens Falls and Nov. 4 in Utica.
Each workshop will feature presentations and an opportunity for leaders of small and medium sized wood products manufacturing companies to interact with some of the foremost experts on Lean Manufacturing as it relates to the wood products industry.
More information and registration details can be found at www.foresteconomy.org.
Visionary small business owners, community leaders, and regional arts and cultural non-profits will share how their work is building communities and local economies at the Adirondack North Country Association’s 55th annual meeting Sept. 23, 2010, at Great Camp Sagamore.
Locally as well as nationally, the arts mean business. The Adirondack North Country’s arts and culture nonprofits make up a $21 million industry – one that supports 506 full-time equivalent jobs and generates $2.4 million in local and state government revenue, according to a survey done by Americans for the Arts. Nonprofit arts and culture organizations leverage a remarkable $8.1 million in additional spending by arts and culture audiences — spending that pumps vital revenue into local restaurants, hotels, retail stores, and other businesses in the region.
And this does not include the impact of for-profit craft and art businesses. In the 14-county Adirondack North Country region, the for-profit small business crafts industry generates an estimated additional $8 million in revenues every year, according to ANCA’s Artisan Program Coordinator Nadia Korths.
The panelists represent a variety of interests and come from all corners of the region: Mary Ann Evans, owner, Mare’s Wares, Ogdensburg; Lynn Mishalanie, creator of Utica Monday Nite; Alice Recore, president and CEO of Mountain Lake PBS, Plattsburgh Jesse Cottrell, Associate Director of Salem Art Works, and others will speak to making the arts an economic powerhouse.
ANCA’s upcoming book, “Experiencing Traditions, Foods and Cultures in the 14-County Adirondack North Country” will be highlighted as well. In conjunction with this exciting new project, ANCA asks participants to post photos, videos, statistics, and anecdotal stories describing how your business or organization harnesses the economic engine of culture, arts or history in your community. E-mail content to nkorths@adirondack.org.
The daylong meeting costs $22 to attend, which includes lunch and stunning scenic views in a historic retreat, designed and constructed by William West Durant in 1897. For more information about ANCA and to register for the meeting at Great Camp Sagamore, visit ANCA’s website at www.adirondack.org.
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Contact: Nadia Korths, Adirondack North Country Association
Phone: (518) 891-1632
E-mail: nkorths@adirondack.org