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There are enormous environmental benefits in switching from coal-fired power generation to wood. This was one of the primary reasons why PSNH proposed the Northern Wood Power Project at Schiller Station in Portsmouth.
Reduction of Fossil Fuel Use
Every year, PSNH purchases about 400,000 tons of low-sulfur coal to fuel Schiller Station’s three 50 megawatt steam boilers. Replacing a boiler with one designed to burn wood-chips and other clean wood byproducts eliminates the need to burn more than 130,000 tons of coal annually.
The Northern Wood Power Project is not only one of the largest renewable energy projects in the country, but one of the most environmentally significant. The reduction in coal-fired energy use will be directly offset by an equivalent amount of cleaner, greener wood-fired energy.
Dramatic Reduction in Emissions
The Northern Wood Power Project will eliminate thousands of tons of emissions from the environment each year. PSNH’s new wood-fired boiler utilizes a state-of-the-art fluidized-bed system, which is recognized as a low-emission advanced combustion technology. Fluidized-bed systems use a heated bed of sand-like material suspended (or “fluidized”) within a rising column of air. The scrubbing action of the bed material on the wood chips strips away the carbon dioxide and charred layers that normally form around the fuel. As a result, the rate and efficiency of the combustion process is vastly improved.
The fluidized-bed boiler technology, coupled with the inherent environmental advantages of wood, burns fuel more completely and substantially limits the production of nitrogen oxides and other airborne emissions. Compared to its coal-burning predecessor, the wood-burning boiler produces about 70 percent less nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions, reduces mercury emissions by about 90 percent, and produces little particulate matter into the atmosphere. The new process virtually eliminates sulfur dioxide (SO2) emissions — the major component in acid rain — reducing them by about 95 percent.
Maintaining Environmental Balance
Carbon naturally cycles through the atmosphere until it is captured and stored in trees and other green plants. When a tree dies and decays, the stored carbon is released back into the atmosphere. In contrast, the carbon stored in fossil fuels is isolated from the environment, and without human intervention (such as mining and drilling), it would remain there. Once released by burning, carbon from coal and oil adds to the net amount of carbon in the environment. Therefore, whole-tree wood chips and other biomass materials are considered “carbon neutral,” meaning that no additional net carbon is released into the atmosphere from burning wood.
Meeting Clean Air Goals
Replacing one of the boilers at Schiller Station with a wood-fueled boiler helps PSNH achieve its goals in meeting the requirements of the New Hampshire Clean Power Act. The Northern Wood Power Project will also help the state meet federal Clean Air Standards, and will help provide a cleaner, greener environment for all New Hampshire residents, now and for generations to come.
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