CHMC Considers Switch To Biomass

OGDENSBURG - Claxton-Hepburn Medical Center has begun examining studying the feasibility of switching its utilities to biomass energy sources.

St. Lawrence County's other two hospitals, Canton-Potsdam Hospital in Potsdam and Massena Memorial Hospital, meanwhile, are divided over whether to consider the "green" path to less expensive and supposedly cleaner energy consumption.

Claxton-Hepburn spokeswoman Laura C. Shea said the hospital's inquiry into the advantages of biomass energy are so preliminary that officials are divulging no details.

But it is clear that they want to know more about biomass energy to see if it fits the hospital.

"We are really only in the feasibility phase so don't really have a comment about it," she said. " At this point we don't have any details other than our interest in reducing our carbon footprint and reliance on non-renewable energy sources."

Meanwhile, at Canton-Potsdam and Massena Memorial, consideration of biomass energy to power the facilities varies.

"We do not currently use biomass energy for our facilities," said Rebecca J. Sutcliffe, Canton-Potsdam's vice president of corporate communications. "However, we're exploring geothermal energy options for our proposed cancer center on our main campus. We're also always exploring ways to use energy more wisely, so we're not ruling out our using biomass in the future."

At Massena Memorial, biomass is not on the drawing board. According to spokeswoman Tina R. Corcoran, the hospital already uses natural gas. Under the proposed expansion and renovation project currently being considered by the state, she added, there will be substantial upgrades to natural gas boilers, helping to make them more efficient and better able to handle the additional square footage proposed for the hospital's new wing.

Elsewhere in Ogdensburg, the appeal and the promise of green energy are growing.

The city recently applied to the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority funding to replace the gas compressor at the Richard G. Lockwood Civic Center - and its Jimmy Howard Municipal Ice Arena - with a solar-powered machine.

City officials also recently submitted a $100,000 grant application to the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority to make the old heating, air conditioning and ventilation systems at City Hall more energy efficient.

Also, Alliance Energy is hoping for a $50 million "green" makeover of its cogeneration plant on the grounds of the St. Lawrence Psychiatric Center by building a wood biomass boiler. The change would raise the facility's capacity from 80 megawatts to 100 megawatts and, eventually 200 megawatts. An estimated 75 or more jobs would be created.