GUILFORD — Recently, The Commons carried a Viewpoint article [“Much worse than your woodstove,” April 10] that was directed toward the North Springfield Sustainable Energy Project (NSSEP).
I am the senior technical director for this project, and live in Guilford.
Because of the significant technical requirements placed on gaining approval of this 35 MW (electric output) cogeneration power plant fueled by wood chips, the public is afforded an accurate and transparent view of what constitutes this project through documents and testimony submitted to the Vermont Public Service Board through the Certificate of Public Good process.
As part of this process, applications are rigorously reviewed by state agency technical staff. As the applicant, NSSEP has and continues to work very closely with these agencies to address concerns and improve upon the project.
From the start, we have acknowledged that not everyone will agree with this project, but we have kept an “open door” policy over the past year where anyone could come in to our offices to discuss it.
More than 120 local and regional residents have made visits to learn more about the project, as well as voice support. Others have also brought forth concerns as well as good ideas to mitigate those concerns - and many of these ideas have been implemented into the project wherever possible.
This project will strike a balance among environmental, economic, and social elements to achieve a technically sound and economically feasible project.
So let's set some things straight:
• The project is located in the North Springfield Industrial Park. This zoned industrial park is about 500 acres and has been operating for over 30 years. NSSEP is surrounded by existing industrial uses, including an operating gravel pit and large-scale manufacturers. It is not in a residential neighborhood.
• State-of-the art technology for NSSEP will minimize emissions to meet or exceed all of Vermont's stringent environmental requirements.
• Residents in the North Springfield region have told us that they have a problem with smoke from existing residential woodstoves. They recognize that we are experts in wood fuel use and have asked for help and advice.
The older residential woodstoves can produce as much as 500 times more particulate emissions per unit of wood burned than by our project. We are funding $350,000 for a regional woodstove changeout program, so that the nearby community can have more efficient and cleaner burning stoves.
• The project is a cogeneration project and will generate both electricity for the region (about 6 percent of Vermont's electric needs) and hot water for heat and cooling processes for businesses in the industrial park (a district energy system).
The heat will be provided at low cost, so that the existing businesses can replace their fossil-fueled systems (and their emissions).
• This low-cost heat will also attract more business (and jobs) to the North Springfield Industrial Park, which is currently only half occupied.
• The more that existing and future businesses utilize the district energy system, the more efficient NSSEP will be. (It will start at about 32-percent efficiency.)
• NSSEP will be using only clean wood chips generated from sustainable forestry practices. The plant will not be using sewerage waste, construction debris, or anything else.
• Professional studies and interviews with regional foresters have shown that more than enough wood chips needed for NSSEP can be procured within 30 to 50 miles of North Springfield from sustainably harvested forests. These “working landscape” forests are not clear cut, but trees are selectively cut and the results promote long-term health of the forests.
• The Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI), which includes Vermont, maintains that energy produced from sustainably managed forests is “carbon neutral” and does not add to greenhouse gases.
• To build the project, about 600 construction jobs (predominantly from local sources) will be needed; 28 full-time, permanent jobs will be created to operate the plant.
• Up to $15 million in wood chips are to be procured each year, approximately two-thirds of which are expected to come from within Vermont. This means employment for at least 120 loggers, foresters, and truckers.
I hope that those in our area understand the commitment we have made to do everything we can to make this project as sustainable and beneficial as realistically possible. We urge anyone interested to consult our website to find links to all of the technical submissions to the state.
On our homepage, there is also contact information if you have any questions.