2017 Biomass Delivery & Handling

Project Overview

Colgate University is the only higher education institution in New York using renewable wood chips to meet its thermal energy needs.

In 1981, Colgate installed a biomass boiler in the Plant to displace fuel oil use, diversifying our heating fuel portfolio with a renewable source and providing significant savings. The biomass boiler, which uses local, sustainably sourced wood chips, has been a critical component to Colgate’s carbon reduction efforts and the largest single method for offsetting net greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. From 2009 to 2015, Colgate used wood chips to cover approximately 70% of the energy demand in the Plant. Colgate worked with the Village of Hamilton to obtain access to natural gas, and in 2014, Colgate installed two natural gas boilers in the Plant. Due to the low cost of natural gas, and the design of the wood energy system, natural gas has been replacing wood use at the Plant. Currently, only 30% of the Plant’s steam is generated with wood chips.

The Biomass Delivery and Handling project will install an automated unloading system to transfer wood chips from self-unloading tractor-trailers to the wood storage facility. The automated unloading system will consist of a truck docking station installed outside the storage facility, to receive wood chips from a walking floor trailer. The docking station will transfer wood chips to a conveyor system, where they will be automatically transported and dispersed into the wood storage facility. This project will reduce the time needed to off-load the chips from the tractor-trailer into the storage facility. It will also reduce the liability and risk associated with the delivery of chips resulting in increased amount of local supply. Combined, this will make higher-quality mill chips available at a significantly reduced cost.

This project will demonstrate the ability of wood chip systems to compete with natural gas to meet central plant energy needs cost-effectively, while drastically reducing net greenhouse gas emissions. Woody biomass, when sustainably harvested, is a renewable energy source, effectively recycling CO2 and solar energy. Modern biomass boiler technologies are capable of converting the energy stored in wood chips to thermal energy for heating in a highly efficient manner. By increasing the use of this renewable resource to meet heating demands of the campus, Colgate will reduce GHG emissions, support the local economy, and strengthen opportunities for sustainably managing New York’s forests.

This project is financed by the GRLF for $400,000. We estimate the project will reduce the cost of wood chips by about $22/ton for an annual savings of about $198,000.

See the attached application for further details.