New Hampshire State Office Park at Hazen Drive

The state of New Hampshire made a long term decision to use biomass to reduce carbon emissions and further its use of renewable energy. The office complex at 29 Hazen Drive previously used natural gas. The State chose a Messersmith automated wood chip system as the primary heat source for the building that houses the NH Department of Environmental Services/NH Department of Health and Human Services. This facility is also using the best available technology by installing an electrostatic precipitator (ESP) for particulate control.

The 2.5 megawatt biomass boiler was part of a $12.7 million investment in efficiency and renewable energy upgrades for the office park that will save an estimated $950,000 a year, according to officials at the Department of Environmental Services. The project was completed through an innovative financing mechanism in partnership with ConEdison Solutions, a national energy services company.

This 150 psig steam boiler system produces 8.3 MMBTU of total output with a system efficiency of at least 75% when burning green hardwood chips. The biomass boiler consumes 2,100 lbs per hour of wood chips at maximum out-put and displaces 422,000 therms of gas annually.

The chips burned in this system are coming from local vendors and being trucked by local drivers. This enables New Hampshire to invest their heating dollars back into their local community. Wood chips for the new boiler will be bought from forestry operations in the Concord area, supporting local forest owners and loggers while reducing the state’s exposure to the volatility of other fuel prices.

“The building at 29 Hazen Drive will see a 33 percent drop in total energy consumption and a greater than 80 percent drop in fossil fuel usage. This exceptional outcome will be achieved by combining a tremendous gain in efficiency in the building with the biomass boiler, ” according to DES spokesperson James Martin.