Central, along with the city of Ellensburg is looking into the possibility of switching to a new biomass boiler. Central is a centrally heated university, with the heat supplied from a facility located near 11th and C St.

According to Bill Yarwood, director of Capital Planning and projects, Central’s current boiler runs on natural gas purchased from the city of Ellensburg. It also has the ability to burn diesel.

The boiler was installed in the early 1970s, and will most likely be replaced in the coming years, though there is no exact date or solid proposal for what may replace it.

Yarwood said that a study  to determine the efficiency of a new boiler was commissioned by the Ellensburg Chamber of Commerce  after receiving a grant to figure out ways to reduce fire dangers in the forests around Ellensburg.

“The university has certainly looked at [a biomass boiler] in the past,” Yarwood said.

An updated system would run on dry wood waste secured by various means.

Along with wood waste, unused wood by-products, such as sawdust from wood mills and orchard waste could be used.

The study said the construction costs for a new boiler would be around $37 million.

According to Mike Moon, director of Maintenance and Operations, the study projected that in 10 to 20 years, a new biomass boiler would save Central around $2 million a year.

Moon said all potential leads are still open, and that this study is just an assessment of the issues and potential options for future development.

Some potential concerns for  getting a boiler would be cost, environmental impacts and the sustainability of fuel resources.

According to the study, a biomass boiler could ultimately lower the particle emissions that Central’s heating generates.

“Anything that the university looks at needs to be in the long term,” Moon said. “We need to make what I call a 30-year decision, and in reality, it’s going to be longer than that.”

Moon said that Central would continue buying fuel from the city, and that any new boiler would ideally be able to run on a variety of fuel sources such as wood, natural gas and diesel.

The main thing students might notice would be more trucks delivering wood fuel to a new boiler.

Other campuses are using similar technology; the University of Idaho has been using a biomass system to fuel their campus heating for around 25 years.

Yarwood and Moon said these are all ideas designed to look at potential paths for Central’s heating.

Any change would have to get state approval first.