With the first phase of a two-phase biomass feasibility study completed, the Grand Marais Public Utilities Commission may step up to become a major player in pursuing the possibility of implementing biomass as a major source of local energy.
On February 1, 2012, Cook County Local Energy Project (CCLEP) leader George Wilkes and CCLEP Biomass Coordinator Gary Atwood gave the Public Utilities Commission board a rundown on what they have learned so far. “We’re at the point where we’re almost ready to propose a project for a district heating facility in Grand Marais,” said Wilkes.
The study analyzed energy use throughout the county, with information gathered on large public buildings, various sized businesses including lodges, and private homes. Many possible usage configurations were considered, from pellet stoves in individual homes to district heating plants for the entire City of Grand Marais.
Two configurations seem to be most promising, Wilkes said. One would include publicly owned buildings on the north side of Fifth Street in Grand Marais – the hospital, community center, Cook County Schools complex, county garage, and Law Enforcement Center. Phase II of the study will also include the courthouse in its calculations. The other configuration would include the buildings just named as well as the downtown business core of Grand Marais.
Piping hot water to the houses in the residential core of Grand Marais has been ruled out for now, even if 70 percent of the homes hooked up to the system. Including the residential section would be “quite pricey,” said Gary Atwood—$15,000,000 to $17,000,000. “The cost at that level is prohibitive,” he said, adding that the disruption to city streets would be substantial, because biomass water lines would be buried.
They also considered generating electricity for the homes as well, but it would not be an efficient way to get power. It would make sense in the winter but not in the summer when the heat demand is less, Atwood said.
Wilkes said he would like to see a system with a large enough capacity or potential for growth that it could eventually include buildings throughout the entire city.
The project partners are tentatively thinking the system could consist of a big U-shape starting at the hospital, going east along Fifth Street and down the New Gunflint Trail and then west on Highway 61 to the downtown business core. This could change, however.
This study will help determine whether proceeding further is feasible, Atwood said. Next steps would be likely to include designing a system and seeking funding. Ongoing maintenance of such a system would need to be covered by user fees, PUC Water/Wastewater Superintendent Tom Nelson said.
“We’re kind of looking for a formal commitment and a leadership entity at this point,” Wilkes told the PUC board. He said he thinks the PUC is a logical choice.
Tim Kennedy, also a city councilor who has been involved in the CCLEP biomass working group, said he believes it’s time for the PUC to become involved. “The whole PUC need to be engaged and become an active part of the process,” he said.
“Who’s going to maintain this plant for you?” PUC Electric Superintendent Mike Taylor asked.
George pointed to Tom Nelson and said, “Tom!”
Funding for Phase I of the study came from Cook County. The Legislative-Citizen Commission on Minnesota Resources is funding Phase II, which will be a broader study of the regional impacts of biomass energy use, including Cook County and the City of Ely.
The Phase I report is available on the CCLEP website, www.cookcountylep.org (under “CCLEP News”), and the Cook County website, www.co.cook.mn.us (under “One Percent Sales Tax Biomass Energy Project Updates”).
Annual water/wastewater report
Tom Nelson gave the PUC board a report on statistics in his department for 2011. Water use within the City of Grand Marais in 2011 was very close to water use the previous year, he said.
The percentage of “unaccounted” water was high, 34.5 percent, but it is likely due to seepage from old pipes, Nelson said. This is not a big problem because the water comes from Lake Superior and will eventually just seep back into Lake Superior.
Nutrients discharged into the lake from the wastewater plant are “way below” allowed levels, Nelson said.
G&G Septic’s solid waste facility is bringing about $70,000 a year into the city from septics outside the city.
The high stormwater flow days (from rain events) in the last three years were in April, June, and April, respectively.
Rebate request
A customer requested a rebate on her sewer bill after an outdoor faucet had leaked an estimated 19,600 gallons of water. Utility administrative specialist Jan Smith noticed after the December meter reading that the household was using an unusually high amount of water.
After searching around the house, the residents found a “goodsized” drip from an outdoor faucet that had not been turned off tightly enough last fall. They had not noticed the leaking because the faucet was under a deck.
The customer’s average water use was 3,100 gallons a month. She was given a sewer credit of $171.90 since the water did not go through the city’s sewer system. She still had to pay for the extra water, however.
Electric outage
An outage around 6:30 p.m. on January 23 was caused by failure of a “lightning arrester” at a substation, causing a breaker to trip at Minnesota Power, Electric Superintendent Mike Taylor reported.
The staff was able to get the city’s power generating plant started and power restored to the city by 7:00 p.m. Getting the plant running takes only seconds, Taylor said, once the staff arrives to turn the switch.
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