McNeil Station Wood Pyrolysis Proposals

At a glance

Based on auto-generated captions; names and details may be misheard.

• What: Burlington Electric's request for proposals on wood pyrolysis (syngas) as a way to cut greenhouse gas emissions at McNeil Station.
• Where it stands: the RFP closed 2026-09-30 with three responses; the department is seeking clarifications.
• Next: possibly an item at the commission's November meeting.

Concerns raised in public comment (2026-10-14)

• The consultant's report assumes 60% syngas efficiency, the high end of a 30-60% range.
• It names only nitrogen oxides among emitted gases.
• It gives no carbon dioxide per kilowatt-hour figure to compare with McNeil today (quoted as 1.36 kg per kWh); a resident asked that bidders provide it.

Sources

• 2026-10-14 - Burlington Electric Commission
• https://youtube.com/watch?v=6qw2y51ofPw

Discussion time

About 6 minutes across 1 meeting (from transcript timestamps; approximate).

Log

• 2026-10-14 - Burlington Electric Commission - Resident comment on the pyrolysis report (3:31-8:37); general manager reports RFP closed with three responses.

2026-11-10 - Burlington Electric Commission

Agenda: wood pyrolysis demonstration project and power purchase agreement; executive session expected.