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Wood pellet boiler added to Simpson central heating plant
Boiler expected to reduce amount of heating fuel burned and greenhouse gas emissions

Roxanna Thompson
Northern News Services
Published Thursday, November 3, 2011

LIIDLII KUE/FORT SIMPSON
A project to add a wood pellet boiler to the central heating plant in Fort Simpson is expected to decrease the amount of heating fuel the plant burns by close to 90 per cent.

NNSL photo/graphic

A silo has been installed outside of the central heating plant in Fort Simpson as part of the Department of Public Works and Service's project to add a wood pellet boiler to the plant. - Roxanna Thompson/NNSL photo

The Department of Public Works and Services undertook the $875,000 project as part of the previous territorial government's energy priorities initiatives, and its own departmental capital asset retrofitting program. As part of the program, the department has been looking for opportunities for biomass installations where there's a good payback, said Mike Burns, the assistant deputy minister for the department.

The central heating plant burns approximately 250,000 litres of heating fuel a year to heat Bompas Elementary School, Thomas Simpson School and the recreation centre. The wood pellet boiler will be able to provide heat for the whole system for approximately 90 per cent of the year, only requiring the oil burner's assistance during the peak cold season, said Burns.

As a result, the wood pellet boiler is expected to displace 220,000 litres of heating fuel a year, close to 90 per cent of the amount currently used, he said. Because wood pellets cost approximately half the price of heating fuel to create an equivalent amount of heat, the retrofit will pay for itself in about five years given the current cost of heating fuel, said Burns.

The wood pellet boiler will also reduce the plant's greenhouse gas emissions by 947 tonnes per year.

"It's a significant contribution to what we're trying to achieve," said Burns.

The full benefits of the system won't be felt this year.

The silo for the wood pellets is already in place but the installation of the boiler and the necessary piping won't be ready for a few months.

Burns said the department expects the boiler to be ready for the colder parts of the season in late January and early February.

The transition to the wood pellet boiler will be seamless and people in the buildings connected to the Fort Simpson plant won't be able tell the difference, he said.

The three buildings heated by the plant will become the first government buildings in the village to be heated with wood pellets. The department is examining the system for other government buildings.

The department did construct a similar system in Hay River last year. Schools were connected to a central heating plant with a wood pellet boiler. The system has been working very well, said Burns.

"We've achieved substantial savings," he said.

Stand-alone wood pellet boilers also heat some government buildings in a number of communities including Yellowknife, Behchoko and Fort Smith.

Fort Simpson Mayor Sean Whelly said the addition of the boiler is a positive development for the community.

"I think it's probably a great idea for utilizing alternative energies," he said.

If the system is successful, Whelly said he hopes it heightens awareness about the use of wood pellets and serves as an example for others.

The territorial government will award a tender for supplying the plant with wood pellets. Whelly said he hopes that tender will also result in a cheaper and more plentiful wood pellet supply for village residents.

Village won't see cost reduction

The village, through the recreation centre, is one of the central heating plant's clients. Because the village pays a flat rate that isn't tied to the price of heating fuel to heat the recreation centre, it won't see a reduction in the cost of heat from the plant, said Burns.

In a few years, after a cost history associated with the boiler has been established, the department may revisit the rate the village is being charged, he said.

Even if the village doesn't see any cost savings, it's good to see a more environmentally friendly approach to heating, said Whelly.

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