New Fredericton school to heat with wood pellets

The elementary school scheduled to be built on Fredericton's north side will be the first in the province to be heated by wood pellets. From left: Natural Resources Minister Bruce Northrup, and Transportation and Infrastructure Minister Claude Williams.

Aug. 23, 2011, Fredericton – An elementary
school scheduled to be built on Fredericton's north side will be the first in
New Brunswick to be heated by wood pellets. The wood pellet-fired hot water
heating boiler was included in the new school’s tender package that was issued
in the spring.

The hot water boiler plant will use wood
pellets as the base fuel. Automatic controls will engage natural gas boilers to
provide extra heat during extreme cold weather. The 500-kW boiler will use
about 300 tonnes of pellets annually.

"We are committed to
implementing provincial policies that encourage the use of wood pellets and
other biofuels to heat provincial buildings," says Transportation and
Infrastructure Minister Claude Williams. "The Department of Supply and
Services is reviewing provincially owned buildings to identify viable
opportunities for conversion to biomass energy. We are also encouraging the
installation of biomass boilers to cover base heating requirements on new
construction projects, particularly in areas of the province where natural gas
is not available."

The construction contract was awarded to Maxim 2000 Inc. on June 30, with
October 2012 identified as the date to have construction substantially
completed.