MAINE PUBLIC • November 14, 2022
The University of Maine at Farmington is planning to spend nearly $12 million on facility upgrades that officials say will slash fossil fuel use on campus. The new project will include upgrades to lighting, heating, plumbing, and add insulation to about 30 buildings. Keenan Farwell, the school's director of facilities management, said UMF will also construct a second wood chip-powered biomass boiler, in addition to one built six years ago, which will allow the school to drastically reduce its annual heating oil use. UMF will raise another $4 million by selling "thermal renewable energy credits" generated by the new biomass plant.