Paul Smith’s College installs high-efficiency wood-pellet boiler

Paul Smith’s College in the Adirondacks is installing a sustainable, wood-pellet boiler system to heat its three academic buildings. 

This $600,000 project is one of the first uses in New York state of a high-efficiency and low-emission wood-pellet boiler heating system to heat multiple buildings, according to a New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) news release. And Paul Smith’s, located in the town of Brighton in Franklin County, is one of five sites in the North Country planning to install this technology. 

Other sites include the Olympic Regional Training Center in Lake Placid, North Country Community College’s Sparks Athletic Complex in Saranac Lake, the Indian Lake School, and the North Country School in Lake Placid.

The Paul Smith’s project was partially supported by NYSERDA through the Cleaner, Greener Communities Program, which encourages local communities across the state to become more sustainable and energy efficient.

This new technology is being advanced by Renewable Heat NY, which encourages growth of the biomass-heating industry in the state, NYSERDA said. 

The wood-pellet boiler will contribute to Paul Smith’s renewable energy and climate-change goals, displacing 28,000 gallons per year of heating oil with renewable wood-pellet fuel. That translates to reducing 320 tons of fossil fuel emissions every year, equivalent to the annual emissions from 47 passenger vehicles, NYSERDA estimated.

Paul Smith’s system also makes use of thermal storage, a technology that increases the efficiency of the boiler. The system will heat a total of 70,000 square feet, saving the college up to $50,000 a year, according to NYSERDA.