Biomass Energy Plant planned at former Paper Mill
What do you do with a 100-year old paper mill no wants, but which got a new $100 million boiler in 1993? Convert it into it into a 60-66 megawatt biomass energy plant, of course.
That’s what Laidlaw Berlin BioPower, LLC, is planning to do with a former Fraser Paper Company mill in Berlin, N.H. The plant will be fueled annually by an anticipated 700,000 tons of wood chips from trees considered unfit for lumber of paper making.
I have some distinct memories of the area, hence my interest in the proposed biomass plant and the paper company before it. As a child, my father, brother and I toured the 121-acre complex when it was the Brown Paper Company making its NIBROC lines of paper towels and tissue. My mind’s eye still sees huge steel vat of lumpy brown pulp swirling its way toward paper making machines. Outside, Boston & Maine R.R. and Grand Trunk R.R. switchers everyday shuffled around dozens of box cars with finished product and pulp cars bearing the feedstock.
I have not so fond memories of the pungent rotten egg smell from the Androscoggin River, which help power the mill and acted as its toilet. We fished the Androscoggin, but only above the mill.
The company dominated the economy of Berlin and the northern woods of New Hampshire for a century. Sadly, the mill shut several years ago, eliminating what totaled 1,000 jobs at one time. Now Laidlaw Berlin BioPower, LLC, wants to salvage the boiler and start a generating plant that would create 40 jobs directly and put some loggers and truckers back to work.
The Babcock & Wilcox boiler promises 600,000 pounds of steam per hour after a bubbling fluidized bed is installed to make it a state of the art biomass unit, according to a Laidlaw Berlin Biomass press release. That technology uses air jets to suspend and tumble the biomass for more efficient heat transfer and a cleaner burn (akin to a common practice from the days of coal-fired steam locomotives). Besides projecting consumption of $25 million worth of biomass a year, the boiler could also conceivably burn storm debris ship in by rail from the southern U.S. Laidlaw Berlin promises the plant will be one of the most “environmentally-advanced” biomass energy plants in the country.
However, the project is far from completion as Laidlaw Berlin Biomass is just beginning the permitting process. But it says has agreed to purchase the boiler from North American Dismantling Corp. (NADC), which bought the mill from Fraser in 2006 and has since demolished much of it. Check out the video of a news story covering the demolition.
A Laidlaw Berlin press release from September said the closing with NADC is tentatively set for next Wednesday, Oct. 22. A May 12 press release announcing the purchase agreement said the deal called for the closing within 90 days or less. In late September, Laidlaw Berlin also said it sealed a 20-year pact to sell all its power to Public Service Company of New Hampshire, a utility claiming 490,000 residential and business customers.
I tried to get more details on the project and a more specific timeline from Laidlaw Berlin, but so far I’ve had no luck in getting to calls back from CEO Michael Bartoszek. Interestingly, some Berlin merchants in a New York Times story a year ago said the biomass plant is too close to downtown and symbolic of same “backward thinking” of the mill which polluted and stunk up a wide area. Berlin, the story said, is counting on a new prison and tourism in the form a large ATV park to provide new jobs.
jonathan edwards commented:
In today's Berlin Daily Sun newspaper, Richard Gsottschneider of RKG Associates, who has been hired as a consultant to the economic development chapter of the city's master plan update, reiterated that he understood the mayor and council are opposed to a biomass facility on the Burgess mill site and indicated he agreed with that position.
jonathan edwards commented:
In today's Berlin Daily Sun newspaper, Richard Gsottschneider of RKG Associates, who has been hired as a consultant to the economic development chapter of the city's master plan update, reiterated that he understood the mayor and council are opposed to a biomass facility on the Burgess mill site and indicated he agreed with that position.
resident commented:
Dear Governor Lynch,
First off I want to thank you for your most recent efforts to help the North Country with economic initiatives intended to help foster job growth and creation. It is with this in mind that I write you today with my concerns. As we are all aware the City of Berlin has experienced some very trying times in recent years. While the loss of jobs took its toll on the community economically, the recent demolition of the pulp mill has also been hard on the psyche of Berlin's citizens. This area of the State has always been distinctive in its people, resources and physical attributes. But in the days since the mills demolition, it has become even more obvious why the people who remain here do so. Without heavy industry downtown to block the views, pollute the air, and assault the senses, Berlin has become the true jewel of the north. The people who choose to live in this part of the State of New Hampshire do so understanding full well the difficult challenges that face them ahead. They are some of the most independent, hard working and productive citizens in this state. They remain here because they love their home and believe with hard work and solid planning they can make it a better place. The path they have chosen includes a former mill site without a biomass plant or heavy industry. Please consider the public statement below read by Mayor Bertrand at a recent public hearing as proof of this. While we understand that it is private property and that we must work with the current owner to find a mutually agreeable outcome, we also want to make sure we have the support of your office in doing so. I personally hope you could further direct State agencies to assist Berlin in its efforts to open up a dialog with the current owners North American Dismantling. I invite you to come visit Berlin and see first hand the potential that the citizens of Berlin see for their new home without heavy industry at its heart. Please keep this in mind when considering how to help make Berlin's future successful.
Thank You.
Mayor Calls on Mill Site Owner to Stop Plans for Biomass Plant
June 4, 2008
BERLIN — Mayor David Bertrand called on North American Dismantling to stop its plan to sell part of the former mill property to Laidlaw Energy for a biomass plant.
At Monday’s council meeting, Bertrand asked NAD to commit to other options for the property. He said the city is willing to work with the company to facilitate mixed use development of the site.
To protect the city’s future, he urged the council to support a proposed zoning amendment that would allow renewable energy facilities by special exception in industrial/business and rural residential zones. The amendment was presented and had a first reading Monday night.
Bertrand said the closing of the Fraser mill has changed the landscape of the city forever and provided the city with an opportunity to chart a new course. He said he has spoken to many residents since his election and there is near unanimous opposition to converting the old recovery boiler into a biomass facility.
“The citizens of Berlin no longer want a smokestack as the dominant feature of their downtown,†Bertrand said. The mayor said the 120-acre piece of property is centered in a small city where the natural surroundings make it one of the most desirable pieces of property in the North Country.
“The scenic resources are a key component of our future economic development, and the type of structure that currently exists, and its associated smokestack, are a detriment to our ability to pursue avenues of economic development that have the natural beauty our surroundings as a key component,†he said.
City Planner Pamela Laflamme outlined the proposed zoning amendment. She said the existing zoning ordinance does not mentioned bulk power supply or renewable energy facilities. Three years ago, the city amended the ordinance to allow wind mills or turbines in rural residential zones.
The proposed amendment would establish criteria for granting a special exception. Laflamme said the city wants to site the facilities in certain zones. The amendment states that through the master plan process, citizens have indicated a desire to ideally locate such facilities “outside of the downtown areaâ€. The amendment requires applicants to provide a report identifying the primary fuel source to be used and that there is an adequate long-range supply available for the project.
Projects must be sited to maximize use of existing transmission lines and the inappropriateness of the location of new transmission lines constitutes grounds for denial. Projects over 30 megawatts fall under the jurisdiction of the State Evaluation Committee for permitting. Developers must still get zoning approval from the community. Projects under 30 megawatts will go through the city’s site plan review process.
The mayor’s statement earned the support of a majority of the council. McCue said he thought the mayor was charting a wise path. Donovan said it is obvious citizens want a change in direction. A public hearing on the zoning amendment is scheduled for June 16.
Resident commented:
Last November the residents elected 7 of 9 councilors and a new mayor signaling they wanted a change from the policies of the past. One particular policy supported by the former mayor and council was that the city should have a hands-off policy when it came to dealing with the mill property and new owners. They also supported the Laidlaw proposal. The mayor even staked his campaign on it. He was soundly defeated and so were all of the former councilors who were running. The new major and council have publicly announced their opposition to Laidlaw purchasing the former site and using it for biomass. And so have a majority of business owners and residents.
In the 9 years since Laidlaw has come into being they have yet to produce 1 watt of power. They have produced many well worded PR’s which sends their stock up briefly before investors realize nothing ever comes of them and bail. Laidlaw is also good at producing lawsuits. Perhaps their new name should be Laidlawsuits? The small community of Ellicottville New York can tell you all about their dealings with Michael Bartozek. At the same time he claims to meet regularly with Berlin city officials and has stated he has had meetings with the community, all of which are complete fabrications.
Berlin needs a biomass plant in the center of the city like it needs that smell back. The residents know they have a chance to change direction and are taking steps to do so. Now all they need is for the property owners North American Dismantling to do is live up to their name and finish the job they said they would do over 2 years ago.
jonathan edwards commented:
Not only are numerous people against the biomass proposal in the middle of Berlin, but a competing biomass company, Clean Power out of Concord NH has performed a wood study that suggests low grade wood availability for a plant this large is not readily available due to the downward trend in high grade and medium grade wood through the demise of pulp mills, furniture mills, and a down market at lumber mills. Two other such wood studies have been done by DRED and UNH. The UNH study shows a similar issue with supply. The DRED study is due to be released on Oct. 30 and is being done by the state of NH to get a handle on the situation. The competing company, Clean Power, is touting and has a track record in affiliated biomass companies currently operating, a barnlike appearance biomass facility to be located on the outskirts of Berlin that is smaller and more in conformance with these wood study availability issues.You may want to contact Clean Power for an alternative facility currently ahead of Laidlaw on the queue and more preferred by many citizens as an alternative to the governor's 2025 initiative.
In addition to the fact that Laidlaw's CEO has yet to connect with you, Laidlaw has yet to show ownership in any currently operating biomass facility, while affiliates of Clean Power operate Concord Steam in Concord NH and heat the State Governor's office. With the demise of the mill, Berlin and the State are carefully analyzing the best of options which go well beyond biomass facilities.
Berlin's statue of liberty, a 300 foot stack and rusty boiler is nothing like New York's statue at this time. It lies low in a valley surrounded by thousands of people close to its base. It stands to create health hazards, wood supply shortages in an area where a local biomass company (Whitefield Power) recently had to shut down due to wood supply issues, which could create job loss at other facilities already prevalent in the surrounding area. It's size would potentially release huge plumes of steam from massive that could ruin the area's impressive views of the presidential mountain ranges.
Berlin seems very devided on the issue of biomass on this site. Many want the city to reinvent itself and get away from the "stinkville USA" impression left behind by industrial nature and ugly appearance of this rusty boiler and stack that sticks up like a middle finger to Berlin's future.
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