Rep. Pickett helps cut Sullivan County Schools energy costs

Published: August 31, 2010

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The Sullivan County School District will be able to reduce its annual energy costs using a local energy source, as the result of a $630,000 grant from the Pennsylvania Energy Development Authority (PEDA).

It is a substantial amount of money, and state Rep. Tina Pickett (R-Bradford/Sullivan/Susquehanna) deserves credit for her role in facilitating the award.

The school district will use the money to install a biomass energy system for both the high school and elementary school. The system will replace 85 percent of its heating oil usage with sustainably harvested local biomass. The biomass system will include an external hot water thermal storage tank and will tie into the existing, central hydronic (water) heating system at the schools.

To many people, the most familiar forms of renewable energy are the wind and the sun. But biomass (plant material and animal waste) supplies almost 15 times as much energy in the United States as wind and solar power combined-and has the potential to supply much more. There are a wide variety of biomass energy resources, including tree and grass crops and forestry, agricultural, and urban wastes. It is the oldest source of renewable energy known to humans, used since our ancestors learned the secret of fire.

A large portion of space heating demand in the Northeast U.S. is met with fuel oil, natural gas, and propane. But, the vast, relatively low-cost forest resources and other biomass resources that are available become attractive economical options to fossil fuels. Several enterprises have successfully implemented biomass heating systems in schools throughout Pennsylvania, according to the Penn State College of Agricultural Sciences.

Technological breakthroughs in the future will enable American consumers to more feasibly process biomass and waste products from urban, suburban, and rural areas directly into energy, Penn State scientists say. Biomass energy will never become the only energy resource that our society relies upon, but biomass energy will become a significant part of our energy solution.

Energy savings of 30 to 35 percent can easily be achieved through effective energy efficiency programs without sacrificing the comforts and conveniences that we have grown accustomed to over the years, according to Penn State.

Rep Pickett, co-chair of the House Republican Policy Committee's Energy Task Force, said, "I applaud the school district's board and administration for its forward-thinking approach to saving costs while at the same time looking to conserve our valuable natural resources." School staff was responsible for researching and writing the grant.

The Pennsylvania Energy Development Authority is an independent public financing authority helps finance clean, advanced energy projects in Pennsylvania, including solar energy, wind, low-impact hydropower, geothermal, biomass, landfill gas, fuel cells, waste coal, coal-mine methane, and demand management measures.

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