Wood to Energy Program
CSFS Wood to Energy Program
Wood derived from Colorado forests and used for energy application significantly contributes to our state’s healthy forests, strong rural communities and renewable energy economy.
Using Woody Biomass for Energy
Across Colorado, many communities, governmental and educational facilities are choosing woody biomass as an energy source as it becomes an increasingly attractive renewable and climate-conscious resource.
Choosing wood energy also leads to healthier forests and stronger rural communities in Colorado as it helps offset the costs of keeping our forests green and creates jobs in our rural forest-dependent communities.
To learn more about Colorado communities that are using wood for energy, check out our Where Wood Works: Harnessing the Energy of Woody Biomass in Colorado (5 MB PDF) publication.
Is Your Building Biomass Ready?
Find out by trying out our Biomass Ready App. Biomass Ready is a quick and easy process to help teams design new community buildings that can better adapt to an uncertain energy future.
Where Can Wood Energy Make a Significant Difference?
Wood energy programs make sense for communities that are:
- Becoming more climate-conscious
- Engaged in Fire Adapted Communities, Firewise USA™ and/or Community Wildfire Protection Plan programs
- Faced with the potential for severe wildfire and with active hazardous fuel-treatment programs
- Experiencing (or at risk of) emerald ash borer mortality
- Experiencing limited landfill space
Colorado Facilities Using Wood Energy
| Location | Facility Type |
|---|---|
| Boulder County | 3.3 MMBtu/hr wood chip boiler |
| South Routt School District | 600,000 Btu/hr wood pellet boiler |
| National Renewable Energy Lab in Golden | 9.9 MMBtu/hr wood chip boiler |
| Gilpin County | 3.3 MMBtu/hr wood chip boiler |
| Mountain Park Environmental Center | Two manually fed 425,000 Btu/hr cordwood boilers |
| Colorado State University Foothills Campus | 1.5 MMBtu/hr wood chip boiler |
| Mountain Parks Electric | 1.1 MMBtu/hr wood pellet boiler |
| Jim Hubbard Fire Management Building | 150,000 Btu/hr wood pellet boiler |
| Gypsum, CO | 11.5 MW woody biomass Combined Heat & Power |
Partners for Biomass Enterprise Development
The CSFS Wood to Energy Program partners with technical expertise to help communities evaluate and adopt biomass energy systems for projects in Colorado.
Partners Share Expertise
Wisewood Energy is one of the nation’s leaders in biomass technology, pioneering the concept that biomass can do more than provide heat — it can unlock local resources, empower communities and create healthier forests.
CSFS retained Wisewood Energy to conduct a feasibility assessment of biomass process heat at the New Belgium Brewery Fort Collins facility. For more information, view Biomass Energy for New Belgium Brewery (13 MB PDF).
Biomass Success in Burns, Ore.
Watch the video below learn more about Wisewood’s recent success story in Oregon.
Strategic Guidance
As a partner to the CSFS Wood to Energy Program, Dan Bihn provides strategic guidance on renewable energy technology and applications.
Bihn created a handbook for communities planning public building construction projects to accommodate future biomass heating systems. He expanded this concept by helping design the online application BiomassReady.org.
