New boilers could save prisons major bucks

PENDLETON, Ind. — The installation of biomass boilers at four Indiana prisons are projected to save the state $36 million over 10 years.

The Indiana Department of Correction said it dedicated the first of the new boilers last week at the Pendleton Correctional Facility about 20 miles northeast of Indianapolis. The boilers use scrap wood purchased from local businesses for fuel instead of natural gas.

The other state prisons due to receive the biomass boilers are the Indiana State Prison in Michigan City and the Plainfield and Westville correctional facilities.