In order to wean itself from oil, Vermont capitol weighs heating downtonwn with wood

[cali]

Vt capital weighs heating downtown with wood
By DAVE GRAM , 06.13.11, 11:10 AM EDT

MONTPELIER, Vt. -- Looking to wean itself form foreign oil, Vermont's capital and several other cities and towns are considering whether to create a wood-fueled district heating system for city buildings and schools, one into which residents and businesses eventually could hook up.

Burlington, Randolph, Middlebury and Brattleboro are examining similar ideas. Interest ranges from what Newport City Manager John Ward called a "very preliminary" review by the planning commission there to a technical feasibility study under way in Burlington to Montpelier's plan, which goes before voters Tuesday.


With a population of about 8,000, a wealth of forested hillsides and a chilly climate - the average daily temperature in January is 16.4 degrees - Montpelier is seen by many as an ideal candidate for such a system.

On Tuesday, residents will vote on a proposed $2.75 million bond issue to develop the system, which would use mainly wood chips.

<snip>

http://www.forbes.com/feeds/ap/2011/06/13/business-us-heating-with-biomass-vermont_8513623.html

[TheWraith]

1. Wood is not a good choice for large-scale use.

Don't get me wrong, wood heat can be very economical for individual homes. But it is not by any stretch of the imagination the most eco-friendly way to go, particularly on a large scale. It produces a lot of combustion byproducts: soot, tars, carcinogens, and many particulates which contribute to air pollution.

[cali]

3. there are new technologies that go a long way to correcting the

particulate problems.

[TheWraith]

4. But the other problems still persist, including supply logistics, ash, carcinogens...

If you're going to invest that much, it would make more sense to operate on electrically driven heat pumps. Besides offering both heating and cooling, they wouldn't require hundreds of tons of trees cut down each year.

[cali]

5. Wood chips are a by-product from trees that are being cut down anyway

I don't know much about the carcinogen aspect. As for electricity, can you say coal, nuclear or oil?

[TheWraith]

9. I'll happily take nuclear generating for heat pumps over large scale wood burning any day.

Not to mention Vermont is pretty rugged in places, they should be able to put together some dams.

[markpkessinger]

2. Uh, that would be an environmental FAIL! n/t

[buddysmellgood]

6. It depends on the technology used.

[markpkessinger]

7. It's not just a question of emissions...

...It's an issue of using up trees which aid the atmosphere in processing carbon dioxide.

[buddysmellgood]

10. It's a closed loop. The trees absorb CO2 they grow and release it when they die whether you burn

them or not. It's carbon neutral.

[originalpckelly]

8. Is it safe to use it for more than 4 hours?

:shrug: