Oct. 29--BRATTLEBORO -- A sustainable and more economically viable solution to the question of how to heat our businesses and homes may be closer for the town than many residents would expect.

In preparation for the release of a feasibility study in early November, Brattleboro Thermal Utility, Inc. hosted an informational session presented by the directors of the Biomass Energy Resource Center.

BERC, a nonprofit organization from Montpelier with an extensive track record of working with communities, schools, businesses, government agencies and colleges and universities in Vermont, is currently working on similar proposals in Montpelier, Randolph, Burlington and Middlebury as well as Brattleboro.

The directors laid out and explained a plan that would involve local landowners and loggers providing low-grade wood in an environmentally responsible way so that it can be turned into wood chips that would be used in a large-scale hot water heating system.

The proposed biomass heating plant would be similar to those used throughout Europe, but forestry practices and regulations would differ, said BERC representatives.

In the southern tier of Vermont, forests are growing at a faster rate than they are being harvested, said Adam Sherman, program director for BERC.

Many of the approximate 15 attendees expressed their concern for the environmental risks associated with harvesting more wood from southern Vermont's forests.

By using lighter

equipment and leaving the top branches of trees, which are a valuable source of nutrients needed to replenish the earth, forests can be harvested in a sustainable way, Sherman said.

And the economic upside is notable, said Christopher Recchia, executive director of BERC. For the United States to reduce its dependence on oil would be hugely beneficial for the economy, he said, especially here in the Northeast, where the area accounts for more than 80 percent of the oil consumed for producing residential heat.

"$800 million a year in Vermont goes out for fossil fuel energy, and zero stays here," Recchia said.

He said that fossil fuel oil costs about $33 per one million BTU, and its cost is constantly changing.

Wood chips, on the other hand, cost about $8.80 for the same value of energy, less than natural gas, wood pellets and corn, and has a very stable value.

The heating system would focus on using biomass resources in the most efficient way possible, Recchia added.