Tentative project schedule as of June 2011

The District Heat project is being developed in conjunction with the State of Vermont. The Vermont Division of Buildings and General Service (BGS) will be responsible for developing all aspects of the Heat Plant (reconstruction and expansion of current heat plant behind the Department of Motor Vehicles, 120 State Street), and the City of Montpelier will be responsible for all aspect of the hot water heat distribution system that will run from the heat plant westerly to the high school and easterly into to downtown Montpellier to the City Hall complex and Union Elementary school.

It is anticipated that the project would generally be developed as follows:

• Complete preliminary design and permitting – Summer 2011
• Issue Request for Proposal for major components – Fall 2011
• Complete final design and obtain permits and approvals – January 2012
• Issue Request for Proposals for construction and installation – February 2012
• Commence construction – Spring 2012
• Commission new Heat Plant and District Heating system – Spring 2013

There may be cost-saving opportunities to complete discrete limited elements of the project in calendar year 2011, such as coordinating with other planned construction and infrastructure rehabilitation projects. Taking advantage of opportunities that present themselves would allow the project to more easily meet the intended schedule, cause less inconveniences and have the potential to save money.

UPDATE:  August 2010

On August 5, 2010, the City of Montpelier issued an RFP for the Design, Permitting, and Construction of a District Energy Plant.

UPDATE - February 2009

The City Council voted on February 11, 2009 to issue an RFP to solicit a partner for the development of the District Energy Plant in the city. The full text of the RFP is available by clicking on the link below:


In addition, the city will be submitting a grant application to the Vermont Clean Energy Development Fund for $100,000 to assist with siting and permitting the facility. A draft copy of the grant application, due February 27, 2009, is available from the planning office: ghallsmith@montpelier-vt.org. When it has been finalized, it will be available for review here on the web site.

The city was featured in advocacy work done by the International District Energy Association (IDEA) as being qualified to receive some of the stimulus package authorized by the Energy Independence and Security Act (EISA) of 2007. A copy of this short publication can be found by clicking on the link below:


UPDATE - October 2008
Feasibility Study for Montpelier District Energy Plant completed!
Below is a link to a copy of the Feasibility Study Document.


UPDATE - June 2006


Montpelier’s plans for a downtown district heating system are getting a fresh look this summer as the Biomass Energy Resource Center (BERC) revisits the assumptions about project costs and existing heating systems in Montpelier’s buildings. BERC is seeking the public’s assistance to make certain its information about downtown buildings is accurate.

A district energy system uses a central plant to provide thermal energy in the form of hot water or steam delivered via underground pipes to multiple buildings. This replaces the need for individual, building-based boilers and furnaces. District energy systems operate in St. Paul, Minnesota, New York City and dozens of cities and communities across the country. In Montpelier, the plan has been to extend the wood-fired state-complex system to provide hot water to heat part or all of the neighboring downtown commercial area.

BERC’s Executive Director Tim Maker notes, “Five years ago we initiated a feasibility assessment based on an inventory of the heating systems in downtown buildings, the costs of fuel and assumptions about the capacity of the State’s boiler system. A lot has changed since then – fuel costs have more than doubled, the State is moving ahead with plans for a new boiler system and many downtown building have changed their heating systems. It is clearly time to revisit our assumptions about this opportunity.”

Step one has been updating the information about the heating systems of buildings in Montpelier’s downtown. Project Manager Nancy Wasserman has been compiling this information over the past few months. With the City’s assistance, the buildings have all been mapped by fuel source, type of heat distribution and age of the heating system.

BERC is seeking the community’s assistance in making certain the information is accurate. Copies of the maps will be on display during the week of June 19 in the Coffee Corner window. They will also be available for review from June 19-30 at Montpelier City Hall, the Kellogg-Hubbard Library and at BERC’s offices at 50 State Street as well as on the City’s web site. Information about how to correct the data will be available at each display site.

Once the downtown data is accurate, BERC’s district energy engineer will prepare an updated design and preliminary implementation plan for the downtown pipe loops. Revised cost assessments will then be prepared. BERC expects to present the results of its assessment to the community at a public meeting in September. “When BERC and the City looked at this a few years ago,” comments Wasserman, “the economics were OK if the system could secure enough customers. The combination of substantially higher fuel prices and the State’s plans for an enhanced boiler plant may make the system a lot more financially attractive to building owners. This updated assessment will let us get a sense of how much better.”

Both the Montpelier and City-State Master Plans support developing a combined district energy system. Beyond the finances, the interest in district heating for the Montpelier community has been propelled by a number of benefits. When connected to the State’s boiler central boiler plant, downtown buildings will be able to be heated through much of the winter with wood chips. This would also improve air emissions by replacing lots of small heating plants with one large professionally managed plant. A downtown district energy system will reduce reliance on imported fossil fuels, insure energy security, build the local economy, reduce greenhouse gases, enhance forest health by providing a market for low-grade wood, and dramatically cut the number of oil and propane tanks in the Winooski River floodplain. In 2003, the citizens of Montpelier authorized a $250,000 bond for the City's share of the development of the community system.

The Biomass Energy Resource Center is an independent, nonprofit organization established by public and private sector leaders to assist in the development of biomass energy projects across the United States. Based in Montpelier, BERC provides a wide range of technical assistance in assessing, developing and implementing wood energy projects.

2003 Annual City Meeting
As part of the Annual City Meeting on March 4, 2003, the citizens of Montpelier were asked to vote on a $250,000 bond to expand the existing district heating to include the municipal buildings in and around City Hall. The following is the specific article excerpted from the Annual City Meeting Warning:

ARTICLE 11. YES: 1273 (59.3%) NO: 875 (40.7%)
To see if the voters will authorize the City Council to borrow a sum not to exceed $250,000 for the City's share of the development of the District Heating System involving the State of Vermont's central heating plant in the state complex and the installation of hot water transmission mains from the plant to the City of Montpelier's municipal complex in and around City Hall. If approved, bonds would be issued for a term of 20 years. With a 20 year bond, approximately $7,617 would be required for the first year interest payment and approximately $23,580 for the second year principal and interest payment and future payments declining each year as the principal is repaid.

2001 Feasibility Assessment
The following report, prepared by Community Energy Systems CANMET Natural Resources Canada, is a pre-feasibility assessment that evaluates the impact of a revised district energy system within Montpelier. It is in Adobe Acrobat Reader format.


More information about Community Energy Systems CANMET Natural Resources Canada can be found at: