The Wild Center
Adirondack Park, New York
31 Acre Site
Opened to the public in July 2006
Climate Change and
Green Initiatives
New Path exhibits about green building elements
First Commercial Scale Pellet Boiler in NY State
Climate Change Conferences for Adirondacks
Ongoing internal Green Team
Youth Climate Summit for high schools
Movie, A Matter of Degrees to NY schools
Local Foods, programs & weekly farmers market
Carbon Audit of Adirondacks
ADKCAP, community climate action planning
Green Weddings
The New Path
Green Tech Exhibit
Convening the Community around
Energy and Climate Issues
The Youth Climate Summit workshop
sessions in transportation, recycling, school
and local gardening, energy efficiency, and
green building design engaged school teams
in meaningful learning and motivate action
back at their schools.
New Path – Pellet Boiler
Pellet Boiler
The Wild Center pioneered a renewable energy
heating system coupling a highly efficient
gasification wood boiler with a solar tube hot water
collection system.
Boiler: ACT BioEnergy, LLC
500kW (1.7MMBTU/hr) Output
Combustion + 2 stage gasification,
Efficiencies to 90%
Fuel: Premium Wood Pellets (FSC Certified)
Demonstration Project Objectives
• Evaluate performance of a highly efficient gasification wood boiler
integrated with a solar thermal hot water array.
• Monitor and document emissions from an improved gasification type
wood combustion system to allow comparison with conventional wood
and fossil fuel boilers.
• Monitor and document emissions from improved hydronic heating
system energy efficiency, benefitting from solar heated hot water, with
the pre-heated water stored and released to minimize part-load
operation of boilers.
• Reduce heating fuel cost and dependency on fossil fuels.
• Public outreach and education
Project Challenges
• One of the first boiler of size and type manufactured in US and built to
ASME standards (weights estimated and modular construction
required to facilitate portability)
Project Challenges
• Installation in existing basement boiler room with limited access.
• Large diameter chimney routing through existing occupied space.
Project Challenges
• Integration with existing (backup) LPG boilers control scheme
Finished Boiler Installation
Finished Pellet Storage
Project Challenges
• Aesthetically pleasing, low-profile pellet storage adjacent to main
museum building. Easy fuel filling aspects.
Artist’s Rendering
Emissions Testing
• Clarkson University
• CK Environmental Services
Ash Removal
• All removed ash
weighed
• Ash used as soil
amendment in
high pH areas
(pine tree beds)
and binder for
stone trail surfaces
• 1st 12 tons of wood
pellets burned
generated only
100 pounds of ash
(<0.5% by weight)
Performance Monitoring
Wood fuel feed rate (auger run-time meter), thermal energy output
(boiler water flow rate and temperature delta) and backup LPG boiler
fuel volume (gas meter) measured and recorded
Performance Monitoring
• Online monitoring of system performance
Projected Economics
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WOOD
LPG
2009 average LPG consumption (before wood) = 39,000 gallons
Wood pellet boiler projected to satisfy 75% of heating demand
39,000 gal x 0.75 = 29,250 gal LPG offset by wood annually
Heating energy of offset LPG = 29,250 gal x 90,500 BTU/gal =
2,467,125,000 BTUs = 24,670 therms
Fuel cost per therm heating value
LPG =
$1.98 ($1.80 gal)
Wood =
$0.88 ($185.00 ton)
Projected annual fuel $ savings = ($1.98-$0.88) x 24,670 therms =
$27,140
Increased electricity purchase = 7500kWh x $0.45 = $340
Increased boiler maintenance (ash removal) =
$1500
Projected Net savings = $27,140 – ($340 + $1500) = $25,300
New 2011 Additional
Lighting Changes
• Just installed state of the art Lutron
Control system is expected to lower
electrical use by 25% or more after 2011.
• Kiosk for the public to show savings
Upcoming Conference
and Expo
•Friday, April 29 Training
•Saturday, April 30 Conference
and Expo
•Sunday, May 1 Public Programs
and Expo
Questions