Green Mountain College to heat with wood

The southern Vermont school is installing a woodchip-burning boiler to heat its buildings and generate 20 percent of its electricity.

The $3.6 million system is expected to be running next year.

GMC spokesman Kevin Coburn says the switch was prompted by an emissions study that found that 71 percent of the college's greenhouse gas emissions were from burning oil.

He says the school's ultimate goal is to become carbon neutral.

Coburn says the college already gets about half its electricity from Central Vermont Public Service Corp.'s Cow Power program.

With the woodchip boiler, he says 70 percent of the electricity will be generated through biofuels.