BERC’s Services to Colleges and Universities

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As a part of BERC’s public benefits mission, the organization is committed to offering a full spectrum of advisory and technical services to colleges and universities. The organization assists academic institutions considering biomass systems in determining economic and site feasibility, design, system and fuel vendor selection, funding sources, and project implementation and management. BERC also conducts regional biomass supply assessments and demonstration testing of emerging technologies such as biomass gasification.

Pre-Feasibility Studies

To begin the evaluation process that will determine whether a college or university is a good candidate for a biomass system installation, BERC seeks first to learn as much as possible from existing data, including such information as fuel use, building square footage, and energy conservation measures, via phone contacts and data exchanges. Once the initial data is evaluated BERC can then recommend whether it makes economic sense to bring professional resources on site.

While considering smaller projects, such as stand-alone heating systems for a single building, student center, residence hall, administrative, or academic building, BERC has developed a reliable analysis tool to evaluate the feasibility of a particular project.

For a larger-scale project, such as a campus wide district heating system, BERC may recommend a phased approach and several stages of feasibility assessments.

The pre-feasibility study is important to help build confidence among campus and community stakeholders and the potential users of a project. If the project then proceeds to the next level, BERC can oversee a new level of study.

Feasibility Studies

A typical feasibility study may include some or all of the following components:

Site Assessment and Evaluation of the Campus Master Plan. BERC conducts site assessments to evaluate the availability of space for the installation of a biomass energy system at a particular location, including identifying areas with adequate room (either within existing construction or for new construction), good street access for delivery trucks, and sufficient space for tractor trailer trucks to maneuver in delivering woodchips. Site topography and any permitting constraints due to water sources, wetlands, or historical buildings are also considered in the site assessment. BERC can work jointly with the mechanical engineers appointed by the college and university to assure that the design objectives, and the goals of the campus master plan, are fully incorporated into the biomass project.
Economic Feasibility and Performance Specifications. BERC has developed a proprietary life-cycle cost (LCC) analysis tool that is used to analyze the cost effectiveness of purchasing, operating, and maintaining a biomass heating system over its projected lifespan. The LCC tool considers multiple inputs, including the consumption of and price paid for both fossil and biomass fuels and the cost of installing and maintaining the biomass system. The LCC is a decision-making tool that allows the user to compare the cost of a new biomass energy system to the cost of an existing fossil fuel system and examine the most cost effective options.
BERC has experience analyzing information, provided by college and university facility managers. Detailed analysis of building energy loads (including domestic hot water, electrical, and HVAC) is included in the initial phases of system implementation. BERC gathers input from the mechanical engineer and makes recommendations to clients about wood boiler sizing for the current and future energy requirements. Our organization also has experience making wood storage system sizing recommendations to maximize delivery and storage efficiency, and also to address potential contingencies related to biomass storage.
Permitting and Air-Quality Requirements. BERC incorporates into its feasibility studies an assessment of the air emissions issues around the type(s) of fuels and technologies being employed. BERC works with local air quality regulators to determine appropriate emissions control equipment to be installed and to identify any potential permitting requirements at the study site.
Emission control technologies vary depending on the scale of biomass application, ranging from large electric generation units and biomass combined heat and power (CHP) systems to wood pellet systems and boilers sized for smaller stand alone applications. BERC supports the use of best available emissions-control technology for each type of biomass application and regularly coordinates efforts with state and regional air quality divisions and national EPA regulators.

Biomass Resource Supply Services

One of the more important components of a feasibility study is the evaluation of biomass resource supply in the local and regional area. Once the campus energy requirements and boiler sizing calculations have been accomplished BERC employs a unique approach to conducting both preliminary and detailed regional biomass resource assessments that quantify existing and potential volumes of sustainable biomass fuels from farms and forests.

Employing proprietary supply calculation tools that utilize GIS software, BERC’s biomass resource specialists analyze the amount of net available low-grade growth wood in a given region’s forests. From this analysis, they determine the sustainable yield of the available resources. The specialists also employ tools to examine the spatial patterns of how the biomass resource is distributed throughout the region.

Once the amount and current distribution trends of the sustained-yield resource are understood, further modeling explores the impacts of increased demand on resource supply and sustainability over a given period of time. This provides for an in-depth examination of how the regional biomass resource supply will change in response to expanded market demand.

BERC helps clients move beyond fuel supply assessment to fuel procurement by identifying specific biomass fuel suppliers; assessing their capacity and reliability to supply fuels; pre-qualifying suppliers; developing bid documents and managing a fuel supply Request for Proposals (RFP) process; and developing, negotiating, and securing final supply contracts.

Third-Party Expert Technical Reviews

As a nonprofit organization BERC frequently performs third-party expert technical reviews in a variety of matters related to biomass energy. BERC has provided assistance to colleges and universities with third-party reviews of biomass system proposals, system sizing and specifications, technology comparisons and assessments, and the cost effectiveness of proposed biomass projects. BERC maintains technology neutrality and conducts routine due diligence on equipment vendors and their technology claims. BERC has the ability to analyze all types of biomass systems and biomass fuels to investigate beyond marketing claims and determine actual system performance, economics, and environmental impacts.

Technology Review of Project Proposals. BERC reviews proposal submissions by such entities as system vendors or energy services companies (ESCO’s) after feasibility studies are completed. BERC advises on the proposals’ appropriateness, accuracy, and feasibility under actual site conditions.

Technology Comparisons and Assessment. BERC assesses and compares various technologies to identify their merits and/or limitations and to evaluate the overall suitability of each system for the specified use.

Advisory Services and Institutional Support for Colleges and Universities. BERC provides advisory services to colleges and universities on numerous topics and issues related to evaluating or implementing biomass energy projects. Partnering with colleges and universities to lead efforts in innovation and research, as well as testing of biomass feedstocks, emission control technologies, combustion and gasification equipment, exemplifies BERC’s commitment towards advancing progress in the biomass energy field.

System Vendor Procurement Assistance

BERC’s vendor procurement assistance services to colleges and universities vary and can include a pre-qualification of vendors, the use of its proprietary performance specifications and vendor bid documents, technical evaluations of received bids, and recommendations for procurement.

BERC regularly provides Wood System Performance Specifications and assists colleges and universities with the vendor selection process. Working with the campus master plan and considering site specific project parameters, BERC creates customized Requests for Proposals (RFPs) that are used in selecting the most appropriate biomass energy system. BERC can put the vendor selection RFP out to bid and manage the bidding process. Additionally our organization assists the academic institution in the decision-making process by sharing information about vendors and discussing the strengths and weaknesses of the proposals made in response to the RFP.

BERC provides “due diligence” assessment of the vendors under consideration, interviews current users of the equipment, and visits installations served by the vendor’s (to the extent practical and within the bounds of the schedule of the project). Our organization regularly assists clients in visiting installation sites of the various equipment vendors so that they may have the opportunity to see the biomass energy systems in operation. The site visits provide an avenue for clients considering biomass energy systems to ask important questions about a particular systems’ performance and get answers from qualified facility managers and operators. The value of examining a biomass energy system which has been in operation for decades, as well as systems which are more recently in operation, cannot be understated.

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