| Title: | Bismarck, ND - Waste Wood Used to Heat New Facility |
| Type: |
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| State: | North Dakota |
| Program Description: | North Dakota DOE Biomass Grant
Waste Wood Becomes a Source of Heat The City of Bismarck, North Dakota had a problem: 4,000 tons of wood waste a year generated by the city’s urban trees. A mounting pile of woody debris was creating a space problem for the city’s landfill. At the same time, Bismarck wanted to build an addition to the Public Works Department building at the landfill. The city leaders saw the opportunity to turn a “public bad” into a “public good”. They decided to install a wood chip heating system in the building to reduce the amount of waste wood going into the landfill and to save on heating costs. The plan was two-pronged: purchase a tub grinder to turn the waste wood into wood chips suitable for garden use and biomass incineration, and install a wood boiler in the new building to turn waste wood into heat. A pre-feasibility study for a wood waste biomass energy system showed a positive accumulated cash flow in the first year, with a 30 year saving in excess of $850,000! A Vision Becomes Reality DVD This project was a documentable example of the benefits of woody biomass utilization. To spread the word about the success of this project, The Western Governors’ Association funded the production of a 12-15 minute DVD on the Bismarck landfill recycling project using funds supplied by the Department of Energy. The DVD is used as an educational/outreach tool for communities and institutions throughout North Dakota. The DVD, called “A Vision Becomes Reality”, features three aspects of the Bismarck project. The first part of the DVD is called Mitigation. It describes the benefits of a fuels mitigation program to reduce the risk of wildfire in wildland areas near subdivisions. The fuels reduction project which protected homes from wildfire added to the quantity of waste wood normally generated by the city’s urban trees program. The second part of the DVD is called Management. It describes the use of the tub grinder to turn wood waste into a usable product - wood chips for landscape mulch, compost, or biomass heat generation. The third part of the DVD is called Application. It describes the successful replacement of coal as the source of heat for the landfill building and the production of a marketable product in creating the wood chips. The City of Bismarck landfill wood utilization project was a “win/win” solution to a growing problem. The landfill building uses 290 tons of wood chips a year, leaving a considerable quantity of wood chips available for other buildings in the area which might want to consider converting to a wood boiler. In addition to producing the video, the North Dakota Forest Service conducted outreach meetings throughout the state to increase awareness of the project. Biomass Energy Task Force Another aspect of the DOE grant to North Dakota was to create a Biomass Energy Task Force which included representatives from a variety of state and educational organizations interested in promoting woody biomass utilization. The purpose of the Biomass Energy Task Force was to review biomass development and potential in North Dakota, examine current state policies and programs related to biomass developments, and propose possible legislation for the 2007 legislative session. The task force developed a biomass Energy Action Plan which called for 16 action plan items including: the establishment of a “Biomass Energy Center” to research biomass production, harvesting, storage and transportation to conversion facilities, the hiring of staff to provide education and technical assistance to communities, and support for legislation to provide demonstration projects and research on woody biomass utilization in North Dakota. Contact Information For more information, contact James Boyd, North Dakota Department of Commerce, at 701.328.5300 or 866 - 4DAKOTA, or by email at jboyd@nd.gov. |
The Woody Biomass Utilization Database is a project of the Western Governors' Association
designed to increase awareness of the use of biomass resources for economic development and
environmental sustainability. Program objectives highlighted include biomass energy and
heating activities, education programs, and projects and technologies involving biomass
residue resulting from forest health treatments to reduce wildfire hazard risk.