Contrary to prior statements in the press by project prinicipals, there appears to be a agreement to allow the proposed Biomass Power plant in Berlin NH to be built. The agreement allows the state to issue short term power purchase agreements to the regional biomass plants that were contesting the project in exchange for dropping their objections.
The new project is at the former pulpmill site in Berlin using portions of the old recovery boiler. It is designed to be 75 MW which is 2 to 3 times larger than most biomass plants. It reportedly will be the biggest biomass plant in the Northeast. The volume of wood used to supply it will be similiar to the prior pulpmill although it will be of a lower grade. There has been considerable debate regarding the wood supply for the project, but the contract is based on all wood being supplied by managed sustainable sources.
The new boiler is equipped with state of the art emission controls so it should not impact the regions air quality. Unlike a pulp mill, biomass combustion doesnt use sulfur based chemicals, so the former mill "aroma" is gone for good. Some of the waste heat from the plant will be used to preheat water to the papermill in Gorham. There will be increased truck traffic compared to recent years, but in the end I expect it will be similiar to the traffic that occured during the prior years when the pulp mill was in operation, although the truck type will change as biomass chips are normally conveyed in closed box trucks.
In order to get federal tax credits, it has to be up and running by the end of next year so the project will definitely be fast track. I expect it may impact accomodation next year in the Gorham area.
Overall this is a plus for the north country as a 230 million dollar project will pump in short term construction jobs into the area and ultimately will provide steady employment for 40 to 50 people on site and a lots of long term woods jobs in the region. The project will also buy some utilities from the city of Berlin which will assist local ratepayers as well as supply revenue to the city via a Payment in Lieu of Taxes and ultimately some cash sharing.
The new project is at the former pulpmill site in Berlin using portions of the old recovery boiler. It is designed to be 75 MW which is 2 to 3 times larger than most biomass plants. It reportedly will be the biggest biomass plant in the Northeast. The volume of wood used to supply it will be similiar to the prior pulpmill although it will be of a lower grade. There has been considerable debate regarding the wood supply for the project, but the contract is based on all wood being supplied by managed sustainable sources.
The new boiler is equipped with state of the art emission controls so it should not impact the regions air quality. Unlike a pulp mill, biomass combustion doesnt use sulfur based chemicals, so the former mill "aroma" is gone for good. Some of the waste heat from the plant will be used to preheat water to the papermill in Gorham. There will be increased truck traffic compared to recent years, but in the end I expect it will be similiar to the traffic that occured during the prior years when the pulp mill was in operation, although the truck type will change as biomass chips are normally conveyed in closed box trucks.
In order to get federal tax credits, it has to be up and running by the end of next year so the project will definitely be fast track. I expect it may impact accomodation next year in the Gorham area.
Overall this is a plus for the north country as a 230 million dollar project will pump in short term construction jobs into the area and ultimately will provide steady employment for 40 to 50 people on site and a lots of long term woods jobs in the region. The project will also buy some utilities from the city of Berlin which will assist local ratepayers as well as supply revenue to the city via a Payment in Lieu of Taxes and ultimately some cash sharing.
