Biomass in Public Schools and Buildings

Numerous Vermont schools have converted from fuel oil and electric heat to wood chips. Of the 31 schools that have converted, the average school saved an estimated $48,000 – a 40-60 percent cost savings compared to oil and 20-30 percent for natural gas.  In total, this offset the equivalent use of over 1,000,000 gallons of fuel oil and avoided a total of 11,329 tons of carbon dioxide emissions.  

To check whether your school would make a good candidate for converting to wood chips, contact the School Energy Management Program with the Vermont Superintendents Association - Norm Etkind, Program Director at semp@vtvsa.org or www.vtvsa.org.