Burgess BioPower, the largest locally sourced power generator in New Hampshire, recently completed a semi-annual maintenance outage, providing the opportunity to optimize the plant’s operation and maintenance, while also supporting the regional economy. Burgess BioPower suspended operations from Sunday, October 2, to Wednesday, October 12, to perform the maintenance, which represented about a $1 million investment in the plant. Along with Burgess BioPower’s 29 full-time employees, approximately 20 local and regional businesses took part in the effort, including New Hampshire businesses Cross Machine of Berlin, Nordic Construction of Berlin, NEMO of Pittsfield, and Alvin J Coleman & Son, Inc. of Conway.
“Producing more than 500,000 megawatt hours of clean, reliable, price-stabile power each year, Burgess BioPower is a critical resource for the state of New Hampshire, and this comprehensive maintenance ensures we are operating at maximum capacity, reliability and efficiency for the plant’s entire lifespan,” said David Walker, Plant Manager, Burgess BioPower. “This is the consummate team effort, as we are proud to work with an array of local and regional businesses on this project that positions Burgess BioPower to continue playing an important role in delivering reliable power to the grid, while also helping the state meet its renewable energy goals.”
Burgess BioPower, which is one of the most technologically advanced biomass power plants in the country, handles more than 800,000 tons of wood chips delivered annually from wood suppliers in more than 150 New Hampshire communities. The maintenance process, which was ongoing 24 hours per day during the outage, included rebuilding, repairing and installing equipment, as well as extensive testing and inspections.
Scheduled outages provide the opportunity to perform regular inspection, testing, replacement and repairs of critical equipment and components, which extends the equipment life, reduces premature equipment or system failures and increases plant overall availability and reliability. The team performed maintenance tasks from the fuel receiving yard to the turbine generator and everything in between. Workers replaced and repaired wood chip receiving and transport equipment, including repairs to two 33’ cantilever reclaim screws, several 20’ long screw augers and troughs, as well as on components of over one mile of conveying systems.
Between Burgess BioPower employees and regional contractors, as many as 60 workers were on site contributing to the maintenance effort at any one time. More broadly, Burgess BioPower supports more than 240 jobs statewide and generates more than $70 million in annual economic activity, according to a 2020 economic impact study. Burgess has generated more than $550 million in statewide economic activity in its operating history to date, and is projected to generate $1.38 billion over 20 years. Burgess BioPower is also an economic anchor in northern New Hampshire, where the plant contributes 12% of the city of Berlin’s tax revenue; 25% of annual water fees, and 10% of annual sewer fees.
For more information on Burgess BioPower, visit www.burgessbiopower.com.
Photo Caption: Burgess BioPower, the largest locally sourced power generator in New Hampshire, recently completed a semi-annual maintenance outage, providing the opportunity to optimize the plant’s operation and maintenance, while also supporting the regional economy. Burgess BioPower suspended operations from Sunday, October 2, to Wednesday, October 12, to perform the maintenance, which represented about a $1 million investment in the plant. In the top photo, workers perform maintenance on the conveyer system, while workers perform maintenance on a reclaim screw in the bottom photo.
About Burgess BioPower
Burgess BioPower is a state-of-the-art, environmentally-friendly, 75 MW biomass power plant located on the site of a former pulp and paper mill in Berlin, New Hampshire. It is a major contributor toward helping New Hampshire meet its mandated renewable energy goals. Among the 10 largest biomass power plants in the U.S., Burgess BioPower meets the most stringent emissions standards by utilizing the most advanced combustion and emissions control technology. Burgess BioPower operates under a 20-year Power Purchase Agreement with Eversource, providing long-term price and supply stability for New Hampshire ratepayers.
###
