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A school district in a rural area southeast of Portland is starting to see the benefits of a $1.8 million investment in energy efficiency.

Estacada School District, tucked in the Mount Hood National Forest area near the Clackamas River, worked with under an energy savings performance contract to complete thorough upgrades in five schools.

The first phases involved a $250,000 high-efficiency lighting upgrade, followed by a $550,000 installation of direct digital controls throughout five schools.

But the district’s project culminated in the installation of a new biomass boiler at Estacada High School, which converted the school’s heating system from petroleum-based fuels to locally-produced wood pellets from .

The system, built by of St. Helens, started running last fall and has kept students warm throughout the winter while reducing the campus’s carbon footprint. In addition to saving approximately $13,000 in operating expenses, the boiler is expected to reduce the school’s carbon dioxide output by approximately 500,000 pounds per year.

School board chairman Mark Greene supported the biomass boiler project.

鈥淚n a time when our public school system is taxed for money, and our funding year to year is not stable, any place we can reduce costs from our general budget means more educators in the classroom,鈥� he said via email.

McKinstry also hired Oregon contractors, including of Damascus, of Portland, of Sandy, Kraft Masonry of Salem and Professional Mechanical Inc. of Albany.

The Oregon Department of Energy awarded $450,000 in stimulus money for the upgrades. Work also is being covered via Business Energy Tax Credits, guaranteed energy savings and public purpose charges that are collected from ratepayers.

鈥淕reen Spotlight鈥� is a weekly feature on local firms’ best sustainable projects. To submit a project, email [email protected] or call 503-802-7226.