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Renewable Energy Heating Pool
Jul 13 2010 9:28PM
KXMBTV Bismarck
It's making quite a splash at the new Aquatic and wellness Center using new technology to heat it's pool. Using water fire and environmental waste Biomass heating creates renewable energy . Megan Lowry shows us how it works..
It starts with wood scraps left over from construction and demolition sites or even trees left in the river bottom
(John Dockter/ Engineer) "The trucks bring it in, the fuel is dropped into the hopper and it holds approx 60 tons of wood waste, the hopper has a live bottom that scrapes the floor pulling the material through the building." The wood is burned to create heat, releasing carbon neutral fuel. (John Dockter/ Engineer) "The biomass system uses landfill wood waste from the land fill here and consumes it in a stoker underneath the boiler to create heat for the pool and to heat the pool area." Similar to recycling, the system reuses waste making little impact on the environment. (John Dockter/ Engineer) "It's clean for the environment and as far as the fuel cost (it is) the cost of fuel is so small compared to natural gas." Bismarck Parks and Recreation estimates the system will save them over 120,000 thousand dollars annually
But the benefit is more than just money. The system uses almost half of the wood waste generated by the landfill. (John Dockter/ Engineer) "A major benefit to this is to have more space in the land fill." Dockter says it's simply reducing one carbon foot print at a time
With Kx News I'm Megan Lowry
The initial cost of the system was 800,000 dollars, Parks and Recreation received a 400,000 dollar grant from North Dakota's Forestry Department. The system was installed by King Coal
Published
11/20/2007 on 6B of the Bismarck Tribune
The city of Bismarck will unveil its new biomass boiler heating system
at a ribbon cutting ceremony, beginning at
1:30 p.m. today at the Municipal Landfill.
The high-tech system will use wood waste as a source for heating the new 18,000-square-foot household hazardous waste collection facility. It will take about 300 tons of wood chips to fuel the boiler, just a portion of the 4,000 tons that the landfill produces annually.
The city has spent about $350,000 on the system and the hazardous waste building, said Jeff Heintz, director of Public Works service operations. The North Dakota Forest Service provided $125,000 through its "Fuel For Schools" program.
The system was produced locally by King Coal Furnace Corp. It's a clean burning process with little smoke produced from the stack, Heintz said. The system also reduces the amount of waste the landfill has to bury, thereby extending the life of the facility.
Several state dignitaries are expected to participate in the event include the congressional delegation of Sens. Byron Dorgan and Kent Conrad and Rep. Earl Pomeroy, City Commissioner Connie Sprynczynatyk, the USDA Forest Service's Dave Atkins, and the state Forest Service's Larry Kotchman.
- Gordon Weixel
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Published 11/21/2007 on Page 1B of the Bismarck Tribune
BIOMASS PROJECT: Sen. Kent Conrad, D-N.D., center, discusses the city of Bismarck's biomass boiler system with City Commissioner Connie Sprynczynatyk, left, and John Dockter, right, of King Coal, of Bismarck, the manufacturer of the boiler and furnace. Sens. Conrad and Byron Dorgan and Rep. Earl Pomeroy were at the city landfill for the dedication of the new biomass project on Tuesday afternoon. Wood products that are chipped and shredded will be the primary fuel source for the furnace and boiler to heat a new 18,000-square-foot building to house hazardous waste collections and for offices at the city landfill.
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