Utilization of Biomass at the Benton Area School District

Columbia County

Program: Utilization of Biomass at the Benton Area School District
RC&D Program Element(s): Land Conservation, Water Management, and Community Development
RC&D Involvement: Project technical assistance and coordination
NRCS Strategic Plan: Cooperative Conservation, Market-based Approach, and Watershed Approach- soil quality; water quality; water management; grassland, rangeland, and forest ecosystems; &
connected landscapes
Project Partners: Benton Area School District, USDA-NRCS, County Conservation Districts, PA Dept. of Environmental Protection, PA Game Commission, Pheasants Forever, and Penn State
Cooperative Extension

Project Description: Pocono Northeast RC&D is assisting the Benton Area School District in moving forward with the concept of utilizing biomass as a source of energy and reducing it’s reliance on fossil fuels. Currently the school district’s heating system is a hot water boiler that is fueled with oil. The school district has an approximate average of 45,000 gallons of oil used per year to heat the schools. Through this project the district is going to be installing a biomass boiler system that will be able to produce approximately 80% or more of the schools heating requirements throughout the entire heating season. The boiler system will able to utilize biomass as the feedstock for the heating system which will offset almost 36,000 gallons of oil that will not be needed. By using biomass as a feedstock it will help to provide the District with a locally raised and harvested product that will be able to supply the District with approximately 80% or more of its heating requirements. This project will be a huge benefit to the local economy because the local economy is driven by and thrives on agriculture. It will allow local farmers to produce the biomass to supply the schools, which will provide the opportunity for producers to establish another value-added opportunity for marketing their products.