This program is meant to help Wisconsin schools and communities save hundreds of thousands of dollars
in energy costs by switching from natural gas to heating their buildings with wood or other biomass.
The program offers interested schools and communities pre-feasibility assessments at no cost and up to
$250,000 toward the implementation of a biomass system. It
complements Clean Energy Wisconsin, Governor Doyle's strategy to strengthen Wisconsin's energy future.
This comprehensive plan moves Wisconsin forward by promoting renewable energy, creating new jobs,
increasing energy security and efficiency and improving the environment.
What is Biomass?
Biomass, a renewable resource, typically consists of clean wood chips, wood pellets, switchgrass or
other agricultural based pellets. Check out the
Focus on Energy Biomass page
for more information and download these two fact sheets.
How can schools and communities benefit from renewable wood energy?
A recent study funded by Focus on Energy and conducted by the Biomass Energy Resource Center (BERC),
"Heating with Biomass: A Feasibility Study of Wisconsin Schools Heated with Wood,"
found that as many as 25 percent of Wisconsin schools could save hundreds of thousands of dollars in
energy costs by switching from natural gas to heating their buildings with wood, or other biomass.
This is a significant finding considering Wisconsin schools spend close to $200 million a year on
energy costs. To learn more about biomass for schools, download the study at the above link or by
clicking here.
Getting Started
The following information will help guide you through the process of the Fuels for Schools & Communities Program:
Planning Incentives
The best way to find out whether your location can benefit from a biomass combustion system is to first have a FREE Pre-feasibility assessment done by Focus on Energy. If the results show your location could benefit from a biomass combustion system, then your next step is to have a feasibility study completed. A feasibility study is a more in-depth look at the economic and technical feasibility of installing a biomass combustion system. Focus on Energy also provides funding to significantly reduce the cost of a feasibility study.
Biomass Pre-Feasibility Assessments are the quickest and easiest way for to find out whether your business, organization or institution can benefit from a biomass combustion system, and best of all they're FREE! Fill out the form and submit following the directions at the bottom of the form.
Feasibility Study Grants provide financial support for biomass combustion site evaluations to determine whether renewable energy systems are right for you. The grant is intended to increase the ability of businesses and organizations to make informed decisions about large, often complex renewable energy systems by understanding and solving technical uncertainties.
Installation Incentives
To qualify for these incentives, eligible business customers must submit a completed Cash-Back Reward or grant application and receive Focus on Energy approval
before purchasing, ordering or installing any equipment or services. You can verify your
eligibility here.
Focus on Energy does not provide planning or installation incentives for residential biomass combustion systems.
Cash-Back Reward
This reward provides financial support for installing small- to medium-sized non-residential biomass combustion systems with a capacity up to 5,000 therms per year.
Non-Residential Biomass Combustion Cash-Back Reward Form
Implementation Grant
A
Biomass Combustion Implementation Grant for Schools and Units of Government provides increased financial support for the installation of a commercially available biomass combustion system to produce any of the following forms of energy: process heat, space heating, cooling and electricity. These grants are for systems that generally cost $2 million or less that are owned by a School or Unit of Government.
If you have any questions, please contact Pam Porter of Biomass Energy Resource Center (BERC):
Pamela A. Porter
Midwest Office Director
Biomass Energy Resource Center (BERC)
Madison, Wisconsin
608.241.8640
paporter@sbcglobal.net
About the Biomass Energy Resource Center
Focus on Energy is working with the Biomass Energy Resource Center (BERC) and Pam Porter of P Squared Group
LLC to implement the Fuels for Schools & Communities Program. BERC is an independent, national nonprofit
organization that assists communities, colleges and universities, state and local governments, businesses,
utilities, schools, and others in making the most of their local energy resources. BERC seeks to achieve a
healthier environment, strengthen local economies, and increase energy security across the United States
through the development of sustainable biomass energy systems at the community level.
biomasscenter.org
Fuels for Schools & Communities Program Partners
The Fuels for Schools & Communities Program is an initiative of the Biomass Energy Resource Center, in
cooperation with the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction, the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources,
the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection, the Wisconsin Board of Commissioners
of Public Lands, and the Public Service Commission of Wisconsin; with funding from Focus on Energy, the Office
of Energy Independence, the University of Wisconsin Center for Cooperatives, and the United States Department
of Energy.
A recent letter was sent to potential schools an communities explaining this program, you can download a copy
here.
