 Green Heat News
February 2010
Issue No: 7
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Dear Friend,
Wood heat is a great way to complement other renewables like wind and solar that produce electricity, but can't efficiently make heat. Like the wind and solar industries, we need R & D funds to design and test the next generation of ultra-clean and efficient wood and pellet stoves. We invented the pellet stove, for example, but Europeans realized how efficient and affordable a renewable energy system it was, and has developed it into a mainstream industry supporting tens of thousands of jobs. We can do that here too.
Thank you for your support in helping to lead the way for sensible renewable heating policies that will especially help low and middle-income Americans and protect our forests.
Please consider making a donation to help us do this work.
Thank you!
John Ackerly
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Orlando, NSPS and the future of wood burning in America
 With the national wood and pellet stove trade expo in Orlando fast approaching, the buzz about the EPA's review of New Source Performance Standards is growing louder. As EPA prepares to sit down with hundreds of attendees in Orlando, some prominent voices say that EPA could make solid fuel products obsolete and put hearth stores out of the solid fuel business.
For more info Click Here..
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Forest Guild Breaks New Ground on Sustainable Biomass Policy  The Forest Guild, a national non-profit forestry organization, has developed a policy framework for biomass that brings together interests of forest owners, forest managers, loggers, conservationists and others. The policy was developed because the demand for renewable energy demands may ultimately put unsustainably demands on our nation's forests.
For more info Click here
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California leads again in progressive, sometimes strange, renewable energy incentives In some ways, the Alliance for Green Heat thinks the incentive program in the Central Valley around Fresno, CA, could be a model for wood stove change-outs in areas with particularly bad air quality non-attainment problems. We like to see larger incentives for pellet stoves than for wood stoves and they have a very generous incentive for low-income families of $1,500 to trade in old wood stoves for a new wood or pellet stove.
For more info Click here
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Save the Date: April 27th-28th, 2010
AGH to co-sponsor annual NE biomass conference
This year's "Heating the Northeast Conference" will be held in Manchester, N.H. on April 27 and 28. The conference provides a venue for discussing biomass heating in various sectors of the community. The Biomass Thermal Energy Council (BTEC) is the lead organizer of the event, and The Alliance for Green Heat will be co-sponsoring it, along with other organizations.
The conference explores potentials for biomass utilization in residential, commercial and indoor heating, combined heat and power (CHP) and district heating, and how this renewable energy source can contribute to energy independence, slow climate change, boost rural economies and create a sustainable future in the northeastern part of the country.
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Breaking News
Northeastern States include Heat in Low Carbon Fuel Standard
The Biomass Thermal Energy Council (BTEC) and the Alliance for Green Heat (AGH), welcome the December 30, 2009 announcement of the Memorandum of Understanding signed by the 11 northeastern governors to develop a low carbon fuel standard (LCFS) for transportation and heating fuels. Click here for more information.
Vermont considers boiler buyback program
Vermont lawmakers and the administration of Gov. Jim Douglas are considering creation of a buyback program to help the owners of the polluting furnaces to replace them with cleaner, more efficient units. No one is sure how many are operating in the state; estimates run from 2,500 to 4,000. For more infoClick Here
Bringing Wood Heat to Scale
Charlie Niebling and Jon Strimling make the case for widespread wood heat: "Our collective goal should be to make heating with biomass as convenient as heating with oil or other fossil fuels, where turning on the heat is as easy as flicking a switch. The technology for such systems already exists, and, with legislative cooperation, education and technical support, and the responsible and efficient production of biomass fuel, we can help convert American homeowners and business owners to clean, green heat.". For more info Click here
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Did you know?
The part of Europe most aggressively adopting biomass for heat is Upper Austria. Currently, biomass is14 % of total energy consumption; there are 35,000 biomass heating installations; there are 270 biomass district heating plants; and 40% of the municipalities mainly use biomass for heating. |
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Please Support Our Work!
Thanks To...
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The Alliance for Green Heat is an independent non-profit organization working to promote cleaner and more efficient biomass heating. Please consider making a generous contribution. All donations are tax-deductible to the fullest extent allowed by law. You can make a secure donation online through PayPal by clicking the button below 
Founders--Dr. William & Frances Ackerly, the Arbolito Foundation, Family Alliance Foundation and Woodpellets.com
Founding members--April Bodman, Ann Down, Steven R. Kaufman & JD Doliner, Nick Salafsky & Julie Segre, Nina Smith & John Ackerly, Tad Welch & Ali Schultheis and Anonymous.
Supporters--Algienne Amrita, Nima Binara, Peter Caldwell, Chaya Chen & Bob Freling, Tina & Dave Egan, Charlie Gregg, Lisa Hardmeyer & Bruce Gray, Blake & Ning Kerr, Margaret Kerr, Sat Jiwan Khalsa, Marni Kravitz & James Hopkins, Tsering Ngodup & Andrea Strimling, Scott & Hieidi Nichols, Todd & Jenny Owen, Bruce Rich, Kate Skinner, Bill & Kathy Smock, Louis Spitzer & Gillian Caldwell, Karen-Sue Taussig & Jonathan Kahn and Tad & Wanda Wysor.
Friends --Julie Berriault, Nancy Black, Ian & Lisa Buttner, Susan Colfer, Joanne Foulk & Denis Kelemen, Dan Freihofer, Michael & Meloney Green, Greene Team Pellet Fuel, Michael & Rachel Lostumbo, Thomas McCoy, Sara Meling, Paula Nersesian, Susan Ogg, Jill Riley & Stephen Fotis and Beth & Greg Rappaport. |
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