Wood-fueled heating system saves company $150,000 per year

Energy assistance provided by Penn State Outreach unit results in success story

University Park, Pa. -- Dillon Floral, located in Bloomsburg, was using fuel oil to heat its greenhouses during the winter months. With the cost of fossil fuels escalating at exorbitant rates, it was becoming very expensive to keep the greenhouses warm enough for year-round flower breeding. The company decided to explore the feasibility of utilizing woody residue being generated by local mills and tree service companies as a potential fuel source. It turned to Penn State's Pennsylvania Technical Assistance Program (PennTAP), a unit of Penn State Outreach, for help.

PennTAP energy specialist John Pletcher provided technical information, feasibility studies and contacts that helped move the company forward. In the end, the company spent $800,000 for a new wood residue-fueled heating system; the company estimates it will be saving $150,000 a year in fuel costs, yielding a four-year payback for the new system. Dillon Floral recently held an open house to show off the new system, made by Advanced Recycling Equipment located in St. Marys.

 "Another benefit is that wood is considered carbon neutral, considering that trees absorb great quantities of carbon dioxide as they grow -- whereas fossil fuels have been sequestered in the ground for millions of years," said Pletcher.

For more information about PennTAP go to http://www.penntap.psu.edu/ online or call (814) 865-0427.

The Pennsylvania Technical Assistance Program (PennTAP) is a federal-state-local-University partnership for technology-based economic development. One of the nation’s first technical assistance programs, PennTAP has been helping Pennsylvania companies become more competitive since 1965 by providing one-on-one technical assistance through its network of specialists, University faculty and other service providers. Recently, PennTAP reported more than 1,000 jobs created or retained and $48 million in economic benefits as a result of help in 2006. PennTAP is part of Penn State Outreach, the largest unified outreach organization in American higher education. Penn State Outreach serves more than 5 million people each year, delivering more than 2,000 programs to people in all 67 Pennsylvania counties, all 50 states and 80 countries worldwide.