The City of Gardiner, Maine, has replaced the defunct oil boiler in their Public Works building with a more environmentally friendly wood pellet boiler from Maine Energy Systems and installed by Heutz Oil Company, which will reduce carbon dioxide emissions by more than 40 tons per year. The move was supported by the City Council, which recently agreed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by replacing the conventional oil-fired boilers in their public works buildings with the more environmentally friendly system. To fund the installation of the new system, the city has applied for a grant from the Public Building Wood to Energy Program. “Although the system cost more to install than a replacement of our current system, we are looking forward to seeing substantial cost savings on fuel and maintenance in the long term, in addition to the positive impact on the environment,” said Andy Maclean, Gardiner’s Mayor.
“It is always a pleasure to work with forward-looking people. The City of Gardiner and the City Council have set an insightful example for others who will be making similar decisions which will impact community practice for decades to come,” said Dutch Dresser, Director of Maine Energy Systems.
The City of Gardiner continues to evaluate all of their public buildings to find environmentally friendly solutions that will bring long-term cost savings. Future projects may include: CFL lighting; upgrades to energy efficient windows, boilers and insulation.
The Gardiner Public Works building will hold an open house on March 1, 2010 from 9 to 10 am at 197 Old Brunswick Road. The public is invited to attend, enjoy light refreshments, see the new boiler installation, and learn about the benefits of heating with a local and sustainable fuel.
Maine Energy Systems (MESys) pioneered the introduction of automatic wood pellet boiler systems and bulk pellet distribution to the U.S. beginning in June 2008. MESys was motivated by New Englanders’ extraordinary dependence on #2 oil for home, business, and institutional heating. Since that time, MESys has trained nearly 300 regional heating contractors to install and service automatic wood pellet boiler systems. Maine Eco Pellet Heating boilers, substantially fabricated in the U.S. and assembled in Maine under license from ÖkoFEN, are marketed by MESys as AutoPellet systems. MESys is the sole distributor of these products in the Northeastern United States. ÖkoFEN, located in Niederkappel, Austria, is Europe’s pellet heating specialist having produced the first commercially offered European pellet boiler in 1997. Today ÖkoFEN produces the world’s most sophisticated and environmentally-friendly pellet boiler systems. Visit www.mesys.net for more information.