Brian Branting is the energy manager for School District 79 on Vancouver Island.
The installation of a biomass boiler at a school on Vancouver Island has sparked interest from facility managers throughout the island, in addition to being a catalyst for a new local fuel industry.
Two years ago, School District 79 (SD79) on Vancouver Island installed a biomass boiler at a site that had no access to natural gas. Fuel oil was previously trucked in to the school, which is located in the Cowichan Valley.
Brian Branting is the energy manager for the district and notes the biomass boiler “is quite unique for this area.”
Although biomass boilers are not new technologies, this was a first for Branting’s district and it has grabbed the attention of facility staff from organizations around the island.
“We have had a lot of people come look at the system,” says Branting, adding he is planning more open houses and site visits.
The biomass boiler is not just a notable piece of equipment, it also makes sense for the bottom line.
“Cost-wise, it runs in the same neighbourhood as gas now.” The biomass boiler has a significant advantage over fuel oil, coming in around a third of the cost.
It also assists the district in meeting their greenhouse gas emission targets.
“It is basically classified as carbon neutral because it is dealing with waste product and not using new wood.”
The local fuel source has also created a benefit for the island. Bringing in fuel is a big concern for the school district. With the biomass boiler, Branting’s district supports a local supplier of chips. It is less than an hour delivery from the fuel source to site. SD79 committed to the pellet supplier for a five-year term, allowing a new business to begin on Vancouver Island.
Biomass boilers require more maintenance and monitoring than a natural gas boiler, but it is not a stretch above fuel oil boilers. For the staff, the novelty of a biomass boiler outweighs any maintenance or operational challenges.
“As long as they’re interested, it is never that difficult,” says Branting, who has been the district’s energy manager for eight years.
“They’re quite enjoying it.”
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