Palmer Switches to Natural Wood

The Palmer Renewable Energy project, which was proposed to be a 38 megawatt renewable biomass plant using recycled wood in a state-of-the-art advanced stoke boiler, has asked to revise its permit to only use natural wood, not C&D wood, in its facility. The project had generated controversy because it wanted to use 700 tons per day of C&D wood in a 900 tpd facility located near Springfield, Mass.

The Palmer facility, to be built on property owned by Palmer Paving, was to be the first power generating facility using C&D biomass in the state, which has a disposal ban on wood, among other materials. According to the revised permit application, “The heat input to the boiler will remain the same, but the electrical output will decrease from 38 mw to 35 mw. The RSCR system will be enhanced to achieve greater reductions in NOx and CO emissions resulting in potential emissions of 49.4 tpy of NOx and 99.5 tpy of CO, down from 134 tpy and 167 tpy respectively. The project will no longer be a major source of NOx and CO, and will need a Non-major instead of a Major Comprehensive Air Plan Approval from MassDEP.”

Emissions of Hazardous Air Pollutants (HAPs) also decrease from 23.8 tpy to 13.9 tpy, according to the revised permit. Emissions and air quality impacts of certain heavy metals such as arsenic, chromium (VI), lead and mercury decrease in the range of 20% to 97% due to better fuel quality. The fuel change also resulted in some changes to boiler exhaust parameters, including a higher stack exit temperature and a reduction in water use in the scrubber.

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