Sanbornton man pushing biomass plant for WRSD

The Winnisquam Regional School Board and the district’s Budget Committee both decided recently not to include an article on this year’s school district Warrant that would have allowed voters to consider a $5.2-million project to build a $3.4-million biomass energy plant on the campus of the high school and middle school in Tilton, and make about $1.8-million in “comprehensive energy” upgrades to the electrical and air quality (or HVAC) systems in the district’s five school buildings.

But Ian Raymond, the chairman of this town’s Energy Committee, which first proposed the project, has collected enough voters’ signatures to get the proposal on the warrant as a petition-driven article.

Raymond has also spearheaded the drive for an alternative article that would approve spending $1.2-million to do only some “comprehensive energy” upgrades in the schools.

Raymond’s argument for spending money during the current recession is that the taxpayers will actually save money — both in the short-term and in the long run.

“The School District has been approved for $1.7-million in building improvement funds from the state, the Building Aid Funds,” he explained. “And that’s half the projected cost for the biomass plant, excluding interest on the lease payments (to the construction company, Honeywell, Inc.) And with the electrical upgrades — the improvements in lighting and control — the School District is eligible for up to $31,770 in utility rebates from the electrical companies. So there’s quite a bit of money coming in up front.”

So much so that Raymond says the interest on the lease payments can be paid with the money the district saves on its energy bills — and, thus, residents will see no related increase in their property tax bills.

“Honeywell calls it ‘energy avoidance costs,’” the committee chairman said. “And in the first year the school district will save $165,368 if they do the biomass plant.”

That amount alone will go a long way towards paying the first year’s lease payment of $262,690.

In all, the new plant could be completely paid back in 15 years using tax money that now goes to paying energy costs, Raymond said.

“After that, the energy savings would go back to the school district which could give it back to the taxpayers or use it for other things,” he said.

The second warrant article he’s proposing would pay for “building envelope upgrades,” which means it would fund improvements to “keep outside temperatures out” of the buildings, he said. It would include new windows, improved insulation and other changes.

The entire article would cost about $1-million but the first-year energy costs savings would be $117,281 and the alterations could be completely paid off in 10 years, he said.

Either option allows voters to take “money they’re already spending on oil and electricity, and putting it into savings,” Raymond said. “And it’s those savings that will pay for the lease payments. So instead of buying oil we’re going to be paying for building improvements.

“We can pay the oil companies or we can pay for improvements to the buildings,” he explained.

Honeywell estimates the district will save $7.8-million in energy costs over the next 25 years with the biomass plant, or $3.8-million over the same time with the “comprehensive energy” upgrades proposed in the second warrant article, according to Raymond.

The Sanbornton resident said as he discusses the idea with other residents in the Northfield-Tilton-Sanbornton school district, the only thing some people find confusing is the idea of doing a building project under the “performance contract” leasing agreement with Honeywell that would be part of the deal.

“Most people are used to a bid contract,” he explained, “so this whole process of performance contracting is a different way of doing things for them. But what you’re doing is getting a guarantee of (energy) savings. Honeywell will do the biomass building and with the performance contract they’ll guarantee the results. It’s more about the energy savings over the long run rather than just the cost.”

On its website, Honeywell claims to have saved U.S. schools more than $153-million in energy costs since 2006. “According to the U.S. Department of Energy 25 percent of the energy used in schools is wasted due to inefficient buildings, equipment and operations,” it states. “This drains an estimated $1.5-billion annually from the nation's schools, enough money to hire 30,000 teachers. After salaries, utility costs are typically the second-largest budget item, and the most controllable expense, confronting schools. That's why administrators are trying to reduce energy consumption and better predict future needs.”