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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 13, 2005
Contact:
Dr. Rex A. D"Agostino
Sustainable Energy Fund
(610) 264-4440
TheSEF@TheSEF.org
Allentown, PA - Helping businesses save money and energy while improving the environment is the mission of the Sustainable Energy Fund of Central Eastern PA (SEF
). One such example is their recent work with Kountry Kraft, Inc., a custom cabinetry manufacturer in Newmanstown, PA. With SEF's funding and consultation, Kountry Kraft is now ready to capitalize on the benefits of their newly installed, energy-saving biomass combustion unit. This unit will convert their waste wood (wood scraps and sawdust) to steam heat for heating Kountry Kraft's offices and manufacturing plant. The new unit solves three problems: 1. eliminates the need to send waste wood scraps and sawdust to landfills, 2. reduces particulate emissions in smoke by 87.5%, and 3. provides heat energy for the facility and its manufacturing processes, replacing natural gas and decreasing electrical power consumption.
Michael McFadden, Director of Operations for the Sustainable Energy Fund (SEF), anticipates that by installing the combustion unit, Kountry Kraft will save nearly 2.5 million kilowatt hours of electricity over the next year—in addition to no longer depending on natural gas for heat. As for the environmental impact, McFadden estimates, "We expect particulate emissions to decrease from 4,000 pounds to 500 pounds—an 87.5% decrease. That's only 500 pounds of particulates from burning about one million pounds of wood. This system is very efficient."
The 40-year-old family-owned company had enjoyed relative isolation for decades, but new residential construction next door forced them to consider their impact on residents as well as the local environment. As Kountry Kraft's co-owner and CFO, Dolores Hurst-Funk noted, "No one had complained yet about our chimney or the smoke, but we wanted to prove we could be good neighbors."
A solution was found in yet another Pennsylvania company: Advanced Recycling Equipment of St. Mary's, PA. Advanced Recycling Equipment manufactures a biomass combustion unit called the Challenger Combustion System. It's a specialized automated furnace that burns organic materials like wood with extremely high efficiency and produces clean steam heat. Biomass combustion units are not like traditional wood furnaces. By carefully regulating temperature and air intake, a unit like the Challenger completely burns its fuel, significantly reducing the amount of ash and particulate emissions (smoke).
The steam produced by the Challenger will be used to heat Kountry Kraft's offices and manufacturing facilities, as well as provide the heat needed for their finishing furnaces, where wood finishes are dried.
By cleanly burning its wood waste as fuel, Kountry Kraft realizes the additional environmental benefit of sending less material to local landfills. What would have been trash has become a valuable source of heat. In fact, the energy savings gained from the Challenger is expected to pay for the system in less than 3 years.
The benefits of the Challenger system were obvious, but Kountry Kraft needed $500,000 to purchase and install the combustion unit. SEF stepped in with a low interest loan to pay for the equipment and installation, which included the construction of a building to house the unit. The installation began in late 2004 and was completed in the summer of 2005. As cooler months approach, the Challenger is ready to provide all the heat Kountry Kraft needs.
According to McFadden, such solutions are part of SEF's job. "In addition to providing financing for installations like this, we"ll work with companies to help them find technologies to generate or conserve energy. The Challenger installation is a perfect example of how a business can take scrap material destined for a landfill and convert it into productive energy. With solutions like that, everyone wins."
Once the Challenger system goes into production, SEF will monitor the energy savings achieved by Kountry Kraft. They will collect the data from the installation and make it available to other wood product manufacturers who have similar problems with scrap wood disposal. McFadden adds, “We think lumber mills, furniture makers, and other companies might benefit from this technology. We want to give them a chance to look at what a system like the Challenger can do for them.”
Kountry Kraft, Inc., is a Pennsylvania manufacturer of high-quality custom wood cabinetry for kitchen, bath, and home living spaces. For more information about Kountry Kraft, Inc., please visit their web site at www.kountrykraft.com .
The Sustainable Energy Fund of Allentown, PA, promotes renewable energy sources, advanced clean energy technologies, and energy conservation/efficiency. They provide flexible financing solutions and consultation to companies and organizations that use, produce, or conserve energy or that manufacture, distribute, and install products and services in accordance with SEF's mission. SEF was founded in 1999 as a 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation. One of SEF's goals is to extend the fund's benefits to all members of the public in the PPL service territory and, when possible, to the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and beyond. More information about the Sustainable Energy Fund can be found on their web site at www.thesef.org .
Note to publication editors: high-res photos are available by contacting Scott Rarick at 610-253-8856
To learn more about SEF and their programs log on to www.TheSEF.org or contact SEF at 610-264-4440 or TheSEF@TheSEF.org .
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