City of Troy gets the ball rolling in biomass facility

City of Troy officials met this morning with consultants to discuss the practical feasibility of constructing a 10 Megawatt biomass facility to supply energy to the city and surrounding areas. A biomass facility would burn biomass sources, which is usually wood, for energy.

On behalf of the city of Troy, the Kootenai River Development Council applied for a Rural Business Opportunity Grant in the amount of $23,000. The entire construction project is estimated at $46,500 and was supplemented by funds from partners and local dollars, according to Greg Larson, a volunteer consultant for the city of Troy. "The feasibility study is a great opportunity for Troy," Larson continued. "We need to see if [the biomass project] could be done here. We have lots of forest, but not all of it is available. We need to see if we can get the resources to do this."

The city of Troy received its electrical power requirements from local lumber mills' cogeneration and hydro plants in Libby and Troy, according to information provided by Larson. When Champion International purchased St. Regis Paper Mills holdings in Lincoln County they sold the electrical distribution network to the city of Troy in 1987. The city then contracted with the Bonneville Power Administration for their supply and the pricing portion of that contract will be up for renewal in 2011. "Troy is the only Montana city that owns its own power distribution source," according to Troy Mayor Jim Hammons. Because of Troy's population, economy and position in the Kootenai National Forest it was prime for the biomass project. Because of the depressed economy of Troy residents, the biomass project would be ideal in supplying energy. The median household income for Troy is $19,636, which is 59.4 percent of the state's median household income of $33,024, according to documents provided by Larson. "Energy will be tougher and tougher to get," Hammons said. "Troy has a great opportunity to get power and sell it back to the grid."

Fuel for the biomass project surrounds Troy and the project would allow Troy to produce energy, lower power rates and create jobs from the harvesting, distribution and processing of biomass fuel, Hammons explained. "It will be much more efficient and cost effective to get the biomass," Larson continued. "If Troy can control their power costs… they can also attract industry."Lincoln County air quality issues are also a positive nod for introducing biomass energy. Burning slash piles on hillsides "is not the way to go," Larson said. The biomass facility will burn the fuel at a much hotter and cleaner rate than burning slash piles. "If we don't look to the future we're just going to get nailed," Hammons stated. "We're trying to prevent that."