Richford, VT

In 2000, Richford embarked on a visioning process in order to identify opportunities for economic development looking forward to the year 2010.  The wood products industry was specifically targeted as an opportunity for revitalization. Soon after the 2010 project, a citizen’s group, called the Richford Wood Initiative (RWI), formed with four goals in mind:   

(1) provide local jobs;

(2) stimulate sustainable management of local forest resources;

(3) attract sustainable manufacturing enterprises; and

(4) pursue renewable energy projects. 

In December of 2001, RWI’s fiscal agent, the Richford Economic Advancement Corporation, received support from the National Community Forestry Center , Northern Forest Region (NCFCNFR) to hire a local coordinator.  NCFCNFR worked with RWI and the local coordinator to develop a research workplan and to facilitate meetings of the group. 

By the end of 2002, the group decided to focus its efforts on creating a combined heat and power (CHP) plant for Richford.  The CHP plant would be designed to use locally culled biomass to generate electric power and to supply district heating to town buildings through a hot water pipeline system. 

Late in 2003, RWI received funding support from the Biomass Energy Resource Center (BERC) in Montpelier , Vermont and the Vermont Electric Cooperative (VEC) to conduct a pre-feasibility study that will focus on two scenarios for the development of a CHP plant. The first scenario is a 250 kw power plant that would supply hot water for heating for selected areas in downtown Richford. The second scenario is based on a 2 MW facility, which would supply electric power and thermal energy to an industrial user as well as hot water to a district heating system. The pre-feasibility study, which will be conducted in large part by BERC, will examine cutting edge technologies to be used in the plant and consider energy/heat demands and project costs associated with the project. 

The intended fuel for the Richford plant would be wood chips harvested in a sustainable manner from local forests. The harvesting of biomass for the CHP plant presented RWI with a unique opportunity to make a significant contribution to understanding how the plant can contribute to improved local forest health and forest value. Although the results of the pre-feasibility study will shed light on key variables of the energy project, such as the amount of wood required to fuel the different scenarios and the price that could be paid for that wood, the group was still faced with key concerns about the supply and harvesting of biomass from local lands. With this in mind, NCFCNFR sought to assist RWI in identifying researchable questions so that RWI could make progress toward their goals.   

Download the Publication Meeting the Needs of Communities and Forests: The Development of a Biomass Energy System in Richford , Vermont