FARMINGTON, Maine — Trustees of the University of Maine System are celebrating the opening of a new Biomass Central Heating Plant at University of Maine at Farmington.
The Morning Sentinel reports the $11 million facility will replace 95 percent of the 390,000 gallons of fossil fuel that was burned annually to heat the university’s campus.
The plant officially opened on Sunday. It will consume 4,000 tons of hardwood chips from a 50-mile radius of Farmington a year. More than two miles of underground piping will transport hot water produced at the facility throughout the campus.
President Kathryn Foster said environmental stewardship is a core value of the university.
The plant was proposed after plans to extend a Summit Natural Gas pipeline to Farmington were delayed.