Waldoboro Planning Board members Johnny Kosnow (left) and Shane McGarvey review plans for the construction and installation of a building and biomass boiler to replace the current heating system at Medomak Valley High School. The project was approved with several conditions. (Bisi Cameron Yee photo)
The Waldoboro Planning Board granted conditional approval for the installation of a biomass boiler at Medomak Valley High School during its Monday, April 13 meeting.
A biomass boiler is an eco-friendly heating system that uses plant-based, renewable fuel sources like wood chips instead of fuel oil to generate steam and provide heat. The biomass system will ultimately service both Medomak Valley High School and Medomak Middle School.
New England-based Energy Efficiency Investments is the contractor overseeing the installation.
According to Brian Race, facilities director for RSU 40, the plan is to erect a 140-foot-by-30-foot metal building that will contain the 1.5 million BTU biomass boiler and two backup propane boilers. The building will be located approximately 300 feet down Miller Road just off Manktown Road with a 60-foot setback.
The existing boilers will be disassembled and removed during the last month of school. Race said any necessary asbestos abatement related to the boiler removal will be done after hours.
According to Kerri Warms, vice president of Energy Efficiency Investments, the cost to the district for this part of the project, which includes installation of the system and hooking it to the high school only, is expected to be $3.7 million.
With the uptick in gas, metal, and labor costs, the price of the installation has increased significantly. In 2024 the entire project, including hooking the system to the middle school, was estimated at around $1.5 million.
Race said groundwork will start immediately upon approval with the intent to have the high school up and running before the fall heating season. The middle school will come on line next year. The estimated completion date for the high school is September 15th, 2026
Race and a contingent of representatives from Energy Efficiency Investments fielded questions from board members about potential pollutants, traffic impact, noise levels, and safety.
Kerri Warms, vice president of Energy Efficiency Investments, reviews documents during a Waldoboro Planning Board meeting on Monday, April 13. Warms was on hand to answer questions about the installation of a new biomass boiler heating system at Medomak Valley High School. (Bisi Cameron Yee photo)
Race said the system will run on wood chips only, sourced from a company in the town of China. According to the Energy Efficiency Investments representatives, wood chips burn cleaner than wood pellets and the nitrogen-rich residual ash, which will be automatically collected in 55 gallon steel drums, can be used as fertilizer to benefit the MVHS greenhouse.
Traffic impact is minimal and Energy Efficiency Investments said that construction noise levels would be kept low prior to 7 a.m.
Race said there was no risk of explosion due to the system’s open atmosphere, likening it to “a pot of water on the stove so there’s no pressure to it.”
The information and documents still required by the planning board include an estimated cost of construction, estimated water usage, an erosion control plan, a net developable acreage calculation based on a formula in the town’s land use ordinance, U.S. Department of Agriculture soil categorization, confirmation that the site is not in a flood zone, and statements from the state fire marshal and the Maine Historic Preservation Commission.
“There’s a lot of open items here, but they’re not terribly severe,” said planning board member Brendan McGuirl.
According to Town Planner Kate Tagai, the project can move forward as Energy Efficiency Investments collects the missing information, some of which they already have in the works and the rest of which should all be obtainable within several weeks. Tagai said if Energy Efficiency Investments does not meet the conditions they won’t secure the final approval.
The Waldoboro Planning Board next meets at 6 p.m. on Thursday, May 16 at the Waldoboro town office, at 1600 Atlantic Highway. For more information, go to waldoboromaine.org or call 832-5369.
(Bisi Cameron Yee is a freelance photojournalist and reporter based in Nobleboro. To contact her, email cameronyeephotography@gmail.com.)
