Central Mass. Companies Get Green Hand | Mass Tech Collaborative awards more than $3 million locally for renewable project studies
Photo/Edd Cote
Dexter-Russell President Alan Peppel stands in front a dam along the Quinebaug River near his company's operations in Southbridge. Dexter-Russell has a $17,522 grant to analyze the economic and technical obstacles for a hydroelectric project.
Given the wind gusts that roar across the hilly property, it seemed only a natural choice.
If all goes as planned, one or more turbines will capture the persistent wind at Bay Path Regional Vocational Technical High School in Charlton — and, as an added benefit, provide a learning experiences for students.
This fall, the school — thanks to a $40,000 grant from the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative’s Large Onsite Renewables Initiative — will erect a meteorological tower to test wind capacity on its 100-acre grounds. The optimal result: to slice the school’s electricity bills in half.
“It’s windy here on a calm day,” noted Bay Path Superintendent David Papagni. “It’s crazy not to harness the wind up here.”
Funding Source
There’s no question that businesses — locally and across the country — are clambering to find renewable energy sources. In Central Massachusetts roughly 20 companies have been given an extra incentive to explore and tinker with options through the LORI program.
LORI grants are given out biannually for wind, hydroelectric or biomass projects undertaken by commercial, industrial and public entities. In the most recent grant cycle, LORI funded 161 initiatives, according to Emily Dahl, a spokesman for the Massachusetts Tech Collaborative. Locally, the majority of those grants will help cover costs of feasibility studies.
New England Organics is one of about a half-dozen local companies exploring biomass power for its Southbridge plant. A $40,000 LORI grant will help experts determine the technical, economical and electrical implications of an anaerobic digestion system with a combined heat and power unit (CHP).
Such a system works with the aid of detritus-consuming microorganisms (bugs) that flourish in 100-degree Fahrenheit conditions. The bugs help transform food processing waste and pre- and post-consumer food scraps, as well as fats, oils, greases and manures into a methane and carbon-dioxide rich biogas, explained Jay Kilbourn, director of New England Organics’ business development.
All told, the digester could provide up to 1 megawatt of electricity, Kilbourn said, which would cover most of the needs for the on-site landfill and processing plant — with some left over to put back into the grid.
Meanwhile, the heat emitted by the digester would go through its own cyclical process by being captured and converted to keep the system running at optimal temperature, thus diminishing pollution.
All told, the cost for such a system would be about $8 million, but Kilbourn said that could be covered by grants and company investments. It would take about two years to get up and running, he said, and the waste materials to fuel it would come from local restaurants, colleges, farms and the landfill.
“We want to maximize the degradation and decay of this valuable gas,” said Kilbourn.
Water Over The Dam
A cleaner process would ideally fuel operations at Southbridge cutlery manufacturer Dexter-Russell.
With a $17,522 LORI grant, the company will analyze the economic and technical obstacles for a hydroelectric project. However, there is one already-determined hurdle: Hydropower projects require approval from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, an often time-intensive process, according to Dexter-Russell President Alan Peppel.
If ultimately pursued, though, the company would make use of an existing dam on the Quinebaug River, and would ideally have a system up and running by 2014. Preliminary analysis has proved it to be viable — a 250-kilowatt unit would net an annual average output of 1,580 megawatt hours.
Although that output likely wouldn’t cover all of the plant’s needs, it would cut costs significantly, Peppel said.
“It seemed like an opportunity to put an asset that we already have to use,” he added
Officials at Christopher House and Bay Path — both of which are pursuing wind power — share a similar outlook as they pursue their own renewable projects.
At Christopher House, a 150-foot turbine could generate up to 600 kilowatts for electricity and energy and ultimately mitigate an average of $300,000 in utility costs, according to Administrator Walter Ohanian.
The facility’s $37,782 LORI grant will help to determine this potential, as well as scout out a site for a turbine. Ultimately, a structure would take two years to install and would cost about $1.6 million, which the nursing and rehab facility would cover with grants and its own funding, Ohanian said.
Overall, Ohanian is confident the venture will prove successful. “There is enough wind in this area,” he asserted.
Gusty conditions are also prevalent at Bay Path, where officials have long pondered wind power, Papagni said.
The $40,000 LORI grant — matched by $40,000 from the school — will cover the installation of the meteorological tower. It will go up this month and stay put for a year to measure the frequency and severity of wind, Papagni said.
If found to be feasible, the school will eventually apply for grants to offset the up to $1.6 million cost of installing one or several turbines.
If put into place, however, a windmill would quickly pay for itself, Papagni said: Last year, the school’s 100-acre campus used $400,000 in electricity, and one turbine could essentially eliminate $200,000 to $250,000 of that.
Beyond that, though, a turbine could prove priceless for education, providing a bevy of data collection projects for students. “We’re excited to see the results,” said Papagni. “We definitely have a great location for a turbine.”
Taryn Plumb is a freelance writer based in Worcester.
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