NCSD Update

NCSD Biomass District Heating Project

Northstar Community Services District (NCSD) is actively engaged in an effort to implement best practices for reducing hazardous fuels in the surrounding watershed and for recovering and using non-merchantable woody biomass that otherwise would be pile burned, left to decay on the forest floor or transported to distant disposal facilities at cost. Building on the results of a feasibility study, NCSD continues planning for a biomass district heating system that would connect to the Northstar Village and NPOA Recreation Center and offset natural gas demands associated with heating the various facilities. The project is planned to be constructed on the site of the former NCSD administration building located behind the fire station on Northstar Drive. Wood chips derived from regional fuel treatment projects would be delivered to the facility where they would be burned in a highly controlled system including state-of-the-art emission control technology. Water heated in a closed loop system would be pumped through buried insulated pipes to the Village and NPOA rec center where it would provide thermal energy through heat exchangers on various existing boilers, significantly reducing natural gas consumption.

The stated goal of the project is to: Improve the economic viability, environmental impact, and overall effectiveness of removing and repurposing forest biomass in order to reduce wildfire risk and restore forest and watershed health. This project has the potential to meet these objectives by offsetting fossil fuel consumption, reducing operating costs, improving air quality by lowering emissions of criteria pollutants, reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, and eliminating the need for costly offsite disposal of residual biomass.

The project is contingent upon CEQA compliance, Placer County land use permitting including a Conditional Use Permit (CUP), Placer County Air Pollution Control District permit, infrastructure easement dedication, various HOA connected entity agreements and final NCSD Board approval to purchase capital equipment. The District will be conducting outreach to the various community stakeholders through these planning processes.

For questions/concerns related to this project, please contact NCSD at 530.562.0747 or customerservice@northstarcsd.org