Prison seeks to switch from natural gas to biomass

Northern Nevada Corrections Center officials are looking to replace natural gas-powered generators with new equipment that runs off something a little more economical - dead wood.

The prison is seeking a permit from Carson City to build and run a "renewable energy center" consisting of two biomass (wood)-fired boilers and a small solar energy facility.

The project would heat the prison in the winter and produce an estimated 1,030 kilowatts of electricity, saving an estimated $1.5 million in today's dollars over the center's 20-30 year life span.

The plant, funded through a U.S. Department of Agriculture grant, would produce the bulk of power the prison needs, with a little left over to sell to Sierra Pacific Power Co.

"We look at this as good common-sense government," said prison administrator Fritz Schlottman.

At least one neighboring resident isn't sold on the idea just yet, however. Carson City realtor Scott Leftwich, one of the few nearby homeowners whose property actually borders the prison land, said he would like to know more about similar projects before anything gets built.

"We want to see what king of things they spew, and the data on it," he said. "I'm not excited about living downwind of it."

Not many homes border the prison property now, but developers are planning to build about 500 homes just east of it, near Racetrack Road.

Prison administrator Fritz Schlottman said neighbors need not have any concern about pollutants. The plants burn so hot, virtually no harmful emissions will be released, although there may be some steam, he said.

According to the Renewable Energy Center's design, wood will be burned to heat water, steam from which will heat the prison, then power electricity-producing turbines.

According to a project manager's report from Phoenix, Ariz.-based APS Energy Services, the plant will be fueled with unusable dead wood from forest thinning and salvage projects, much of which is created by beetle infestations that are wreaking havoc in forests throughout the southwest .

"We won't be cutting down forests for this," Schlottman said.

The dead wood is harvested from forests to reduce fire risk and the beetles' food-base. Since it can't be used for lumber, the only ways to dispose of it include burning or chipping it for spreading on forest floors or for landscaping - an option that can spread beetle infestations.

"Rather than wasting it, it makes good sense for the taxpayers to use it," Schlottman said.

Carson City is already home to a "biomass holding facility" near the municipal landfill, where dead trees are brought and stored. The city has agreed to supply the prison with the estimated 22 tons of wood per day the plant will need.

Plans call for the prison to bulk up on wood at first, storing more than 500 tons at the boiler and in a vacant lot behind prison warehouses.

Over the long term, officials estimate an average of one or two trucks a day will make a wood-hauling trip from the city's storage yard on Highway 50 to Highway 395 and then onto Snyder Avenue, where the prison is located.

The prison's project is one of eight in a state program meant to ease the process of transferring from traditional power sources to self-contained renewable energy systems that will lower bills and ultimately save the state money. Under the program, a state facility can estimate how much money new equipment will save and put that money toward the equipment.

Richard Burdette, energy adviser to Gov. Kenny Guinn, said a bill that would streamline the program was passed Friday by the state Assembly.

The Carson City Planning Commission is scheduled to consider a special-use permit for the project at a public hearing on April 27.