Celebrating a step toward greater energy efficiency, Epping held a ribbon cutting ceremony Feb. 7 in honor of the installation of a co-generation system from Marathon Engine Systems in its town hall.
The system is expected to cut carbon dioxide emissions by 50 percent or more while creating an estimated 35 percent cost savings. The system is the first small-scale co-generation system in the United States.
"They've gone into the 21st century with the energy system they have there," said Matthew Fairy, co-owner of Eco Energy Partners, LLC, the company that sold the co-generation system to Epping.
"It has really helped the town make a statement about itself," said Clay Mitchell, a member of the Epping planning board. He said the example has "provided leadership" in energy efficiency and "broken through resistance and opened the door for other people."
Typically, buildings use oil boilers for heat and draw electricity from a main power grid. But co-generation generates two utilities - heat and electricity - from one energy source. For the Epping system, propane fires an engine, which runs a generator that produces electricity. The heat from this process is then captured and used to heat the town hall. While the town hall is still attached to the main power grid, which is run by Public Service of New Hampshire (PSNH), it only uses enough from the grid to supplement itself.
Mitchell said the meter reader recently came in and asked if the electricity meter was broken because the reading was so low. The town hall has yet to receive its first electricity bill while on the system.
The system was installed as an example for Epping's Energy Efficiency and Sustainable Design ordinance, which was passed in March 2007. Under the ordinance, businesses must meet energy efficiency standards for their buildings. The standards are determined by factors such as building size, and there are various ways to meet the standards. According to Mitchell, the ordinance is the first in New Hampshire and one of the first in the United States to be adopted by voters.
"The whole point of the ordinance is to say 'stop, think of what you're doing,'" Mitchell said.
Mitchell said while the ordinance does not apply to municipal buildings, the co-generation system was put in the town hall to show businesses that energy efficiency standards aren't burdensome.
While doing research about co-generation, Mitchell said they toured the UNH co-generation plant, which went online in 2006.
"It's a brilliant system at UNH," he said, noting that what UNH had done "inspired" them.
They officially decided to pursue co-generation in Feb. 2007.
Along with the co-generation system they put insulation in the roof, replaced the windows, and added 1 kilowatt of solar panels on the roof. According to Joseph Bodge of Briarpatch Heating, who installed the co-generation system, the project came in on budget at about $60,000. He said it is expected to pay for itself in 4.7 years.
The cost of installation was covered through donations and other funding and used no tax payer dollars.
Mitchell said Epping has already purchased a second co-generation system, and it is expected to be installed this summer. It will either be placed in the town fire station or the school administration building.
Fairy said co-generation has been around for 100 years, but only recently has the technology developed to make it available for small-scale operations. However, the U.S. has fallen behind in applying the technology. According to the Marathon Engine Systems website, almost 1400 of their co-generation systems have already been installed in Europe.
Fairy said the U.S. is about 5 to 8 years behind Europe in co-generation, but he expects the U.S. co-generation market to expand in the near future.
"We see a very big opportunity for this technology here," he said. "We're really starting to see traction in this market right now."
Bodge said now that people have seen the system work, they are starting to show interest. Representatives from area towns, including Portsmouth, Strafford, and Barrington, came to the ceremony and expressed interest.
Rebecca Redhouse, a UNH student and member of Lee's Energy Committee, has high hopes for the impact of Epping's system.
"I hope it starts a trend," she said. "It'd be a shame if it didn't."
Redhouse said she'd like to see an ordinance similar to Epping's passed in Lee. According to her, the Lee Energy Committee is currently trying to conduct an energy audit to determine areas where the town can reduce its energy use.
Toby Ball, a member of the Durham Energy Committee, said the committee is just getting started with its efforts since it's only 6-8 months old. He said the possibility of co-generation is "a couple steps ahead" of where the Durham committee currently is.
Be the first to comment on this article!