Wood waste won’t be used to fuel recreational facilities in Lumby.
The White Valley, Parks, Recreation and Culture Advisory Committee voted Monday not to develop a biomass heating system for facilities such as the Pat Duke Memorial Arena and the curling club.
“It’s something we can revisit in the future but currently it’s not financially viable,” said director Randal Ostafichuk.
In 2013, the Village of Lumby initiated a feasibility study for using wood waste to heat public buildings round Oval Park.
However, a number of factors have occurred since the report was put together.
“Since 2012, the regional district has made significant upgrades to the Pat Duke Arena and the curling club, most have which resulted in considerable reductions in natural gas consumption,” said Tannis Nelson, community development co-ordinator, in a report.
Other factors are grant funding not being available and the village has decided not to be the lead agency in the project.
“The payback period would be greater than the cost of the biomass (project),” said Rick Fairbairn, WVPRCAC chairperson.
It’s believed the cost for heating six facilities would climb by a minimum of $108,000 while heating three facilities would rise by $50,000.
“It’s now estimated that the revised payback would be a minimum of 20 years,” said Nelson.
