HANOVER — Calls for Dartmouth College to rethink its plan to build a biomass heating plant continued during a public forum on Wednesday, where attendees worried the project would contribute to climate change and worsen air pollution.

Instead of burning wood chips, Dartmouth should instead look to renewable technologies to heat its campus, including heat pumps, solar and wind, advocates said during the roughly hour-and-a-half-long meeting.

“I would just wonder why (Dartmouth) only has 2% of energy coming from solar panels,” Hartford resident Laura Simon told a crowd of about 60 people gathered inside the college’s Filene Auditorium. “That’s not teaching our students, and that’s not being a leader that Dartmouth needs to be.”

Dartmouth hopes to build a biomass plant on one of three potential sites as part of its $200 million “green energy” plan.

Those locations, which were announced in May, are a hill behind the Dewey parking lot, east of Rope Ferry Road and Occom Pond; land by Hanover Country Club’s maintenance facility garage, which is at the south end of the golf course; and the former home of Trumbull-Nelson Construction Co., next to the Hanover Public Works Department on Route 120.

Wednesday’s forum was called to discuss the three possible spots. And while a few residents spoke of preferring the Route 120 site, the discussion largely focused on biomass and its impact on the environment.

Dartmouth investigated several alternatives to heat the campus, including heat pumps, said Josh Keniston, the college’s vice president for institutional projects. But none of those were economical or could heat the campus reliably on its own, he said.

“We talk about this as being imperfect. We know that biomass is imperfect,” Keniston told the crowd. “We’re still digesting this, and we’re still making decisions about what the final form of this looks like.”

Dartmouth’s energy plan also includes replacing its steam water distribution system with hot water, a move that’s expected to increase efficiency by 20%, he said.

The college’s heating system is currently fueled by a 1.5-acre oil-burning power plant located in downtown Hanover.

The power plant, which was built more than 120 years ago, requires six deliveries of No. 6 heating oil on the coldest nights. By comparison, Dartmouth officials estimate the new biomass plant could need about 15 shipments of wood chips to handle the same cold temperatures.

But attendees pushed for Dartmouth to spend the additional money on a renewable fuel, saying the cost is worth it if another source can reduce carbon emissions.

“This is a wealthy institution with endowments coming out of its ears,” said Rachel Smoker, co-director of the Vermont advocacy group Biofuel Watch. “Most of the comments people are making are this is not a good idea. People are not ready for this project from what I can see.”

The audience’s concerns echoed arguments put forward by three prominent scientists and Dartmouth alumni who warned in a July 5 letter that the biomass plant could “substantially” increase the college’s carbon emissions.

By cutting forests and then burning wood, biomass plants release large amounts of carbon into the atmosphere, said the scientists, including George Woodwell, founder of the Woods Hole (Mass.) Research Center and the Environmental Defense Fund.

Woodwell, a 1950 Dartmouth graduate, and his colleagues said the carbon content of wood is 30% higher than fuel oil and 80% greater than natural gas.

College officials contend that its use as a heat source is far more environmentally friendly than energy-producing plants. Dartmouth estimates its system would be 89% efficient, recovering more energy than electric plants.

Keniston said Dartmouth is still searching for a private partner to develop and operate the biomass facility. They plan to choose a site for the plant by September, and if all goes well, have it operating by 2025.

The biomass plant is then expected to have a 30-year life span.

Another forum on the biomass plans is scheduled for 6 p.m. Aug. 13. That event also will be held in the Filene Auditorium in Moore Hall.

Tim Camerato can be reached at tcamerato@vnews.com or 603-727-3223.

 Correction

Josh Keniston is the vice president for  institutional projects at Dartmouth College. An earlier version of this story misstated his title.