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North Hampton School

New Gas Line Promises Taxpayer Savings and More

Excavated oil tank loaded onto truck for removal.

The North Hampton School is grateful for our community’s support for the natural gas conversion project underway this summer. This conversion from an oil heated facility to a natural gas powered school is anticipated to be complete by the start of the 2018-19 school year. This conversion project represents a culmination of four years of planning, with the goal of achieving long-term cost savings while operating in a cleaner, more environmentally friendly manner. Trane, Inc. is managing the conversion in coordination with the school district, Siemens, and Unitil Corporation. The project includes extending the natural gas line under Atlantic Avenue from Route 1 to the school, removing the existing oil tank, replacing two boilers, controls integration, and converting the kitchen from propane to natural gas. The timing of the project was planned to coincide with the anticipated end of life of the existing oil-fired boilers.

The full cost of the project is $360,118, and the district’s financial model and analysis indicates a conservative payback period of eight years through significant annual savings on fuel costs. This payback is calculated against the incremental cost of converting to natural gas versus a straight replacement with oil-fired boilers. An Energy Improvements Expendable Trust was created in 2014 to start the process of saving for this long-term project. Over the course of four years the voters of North Hampton approved warrant articles totaling $150,000 in advance of the project, with support from both the North Hampton Capital Improvement Plan Committee and the North Hampton Budget Committee. The remaining balance was approved by warrant article vote in March 2018.

In addition to the cost savings and cleaner fuel benefits the school will achieve, the extension of the natural gas line can further benefit North Hampton taxpayers by making natural gas service available to the municipal campus on Atlantic Avenue. Any resident or business located along the extended pipeline route would also be able to become a Unitil natural gas customer.

Special thanks to our facility manager, John Gamache, for his work on site coordinating with the construction and to Nancy Tuttle for managing the contract at the SAU.

Anyone interested in learning more about the project is encouraged to contact SAU 21 Business Administrator, Matthew Ferreira at 603-926-8992 ext. 107 or email at mferreira@sau21.org.

 

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