FARMINGTON — Wood pellets, heat pumps and biomass were topics at an energy forum Wednesday at the University of Maine at Farmington.

University of Maine trustees approved a move to natural gas and construction of a central heating plant for the local campus, but Summit Natural Gas has informed UMF it could not commit to bringing a gas line to Farmington in 2016.

The university is seeking an alternative energy solution. 

“All fuels are on the table,” Jeff McKay, director of facilities management, said. “We need to make the best decision for us and the community.”

Bill Crandall of Western Maine Community Action said wood pellets produced locally is a viable option.

“Eighty cents of a dollar goes out of the country for oil,” he said. “The dollar stays here locally for pellets.”

Working with the Maine Model Neighborhood Project, which has helped with installation of pellet boilers in homes and public buildings, Crandall pointed to the success of local churches switching from oil to pellets.

With the use of 700 tons of wood pellets and 260 tons of chips in six Regional School Unit 9 schools, consumption of 220,000 gallons of oil is down to 23,000 gallons last year, David Leavitt, director of support services for RSU 9, said.

“It has been an absolute success story and has created jobs locally,” he said. 

The pellet mill in Strong has grown 10-fold, Jeff Allen, manager since 2008, said.  The mill supplies pellets for RSU 9 headquartered in Farmington, RSU 58 headquartered in Phillips and RSU 74 headquartered in Anson and The Jackson Laboratory in Bar Harbor. It also sells bags of pellets.

“We started with seven to 10 employees; now there are 27,” he said. “There were 20 to 30 suppliers of wood; now there are 100 to 110.”

For UMF professors Tom Eastler and Paul Stancioff, installation of heat pumps in their homes has reduced their oil consumption.

At approximately 14 cents per kilowatt hour, the heat pump keeps Eastler’s home at 72 degrees all winter, he said.

Stancioff installed a ground source heat pump in 2008. It takes heat out of the ground and is pumped into the home by electricity. It is more expensive to install, but is more efficient, working at 400 percent efficiency.

“My electrical bill went up but my oil bill has gone down,” he said.

The electrical cost is the equivalent of paying $1.40 per gallon for oil, he said.

The campus is planning for construction of a 5,700-square-foot central heating plant on Quebec Street, Laurie Gardner, executive director for finance and administration at UMF, said. The estimated payback from energy savings is expected in about 10 years, she said.

Campus officials will meet next week to discuss options. UMF will have to go back to the Board of Trustees for approval.

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