August 2011
Green Heat NewsAGH logo
Issue No. 25
In This Issue
From the Newsroom
Upcoming Conferences and Webinars

Quick Links

Verse of the Month

 Beechwood fires are bright & clear  

If logs are kept a year

Chestnuts only good they say,
if for long its laid away.

Birch and fir logs burn too fat
Blaze up bright and do not last.

Elm wood burns like a church yard mold
E'en the very flames are cold.

Poplar gives a bitter smoke
Fills your eyes and makes you choke.

Apple wood will scent your room
with an incense like perfume.

Oak and Maple, if dry and old
keep away the winter cold.

But Ash wood split and dry
a King shall warm his slippers by.

 

-Anonymous 

 

Win-A-Ton

 Do you heat your home with wood pellets? Click here to complete a brief survey and to be entered for a chance to win a ton of pellets from New England Wood Pellets

Research Fellowship
The Alliance has an opening for a Fall Research Fellow. This Fellowship will provide an excellent opportunity to promote renewable energy and delve into policy research.  We are accepting applications on a rolling basis. Come join a small team of advocates who believe in the clean and efficient use of biomass for heating homes and businesses. For more information, click here
Office Equipment Needed

Have a printer, scanner or computer that is still relatively up to date and in good working order that you don't need? Donate it to the Alliance for Green Heat and get a tax deduction. Contact:

 john@forgreenheat.org 

Join Our Mailing List

And stay up to date with all things wood heat. To sign up,

click here 

Dear friends,  

 

As I write this, it is 104 degrees in the Washington DC area.  Will this abnormal heat wave be the new normal?  One of the solutions to global warming is to quickly start shifting from fossil fuels to more biomass heating. 

 

Our new report, "Transforming Wood Heat in America: A Toolkit of Policy Options," lays out 6 key steps to move more rapidly to much cleaner and more efficient wood and pellet heating.  Scores of state and federal officials contributed ideas and experiences to this report, making it one of the most comprehensive policy documents on residential wood heat.

 

Now, we need your help.Please share this report with policymakers in your state.  In coming years, most US states will be revisiting and tinkering with their residential renewable energy policies.  We need to be part of that discussion - and part of those programs.

 

Thank you!

The Team at Green Heat  

Alliance for Green Heat Projects & Activities

 

Report Finds Wood Heat Dominates Residential Renewable Market   

  Cover image A report released by the non-profit group, Alliance for Green Heat, finds that wood heating in America is dominating the residential renewable energy market and doing so with virtually no government subsidies. For the press release, click here . To read the full report, click here. The findings of this report have great implications for the wood heat community.  Biomass Power and Thermal Magazine ran this story on the report.

 

 

 

 

 

Washington Wood Heat Symposium  

  

On July 13, Washington DC witnessed a rare event;a group of policy makers, industry officials and environmental organizations gathered to discuss the renewable energy contributions of everyday Americans using wood to heat their homes. The Symposium,  "Scaling up Residential Biomass Heating" was held at the Forest Service headquarters and helped to raise the profile of residential wood heat in Washington. For more.

The symposium also launched the AGH report on wood heat incentives entitled "Transforming Wood Heat in America: A Toolkit of Policy Options". 

 

Alliance for Green Heat Webinar

The Alliance co-hosted a webinar with BTEC on the future of residential wood & pellet heat in America. The discussion centered around wood heat policy options for federal and state officials. Presenters include: Rachel Sakata, Oregon DEQ, Charlie Niebling, Chair of BTEC, Jon Strimling, CEO of American Biomass and John Ackerly, President of the Alliance for Green Heat. For more.  


 

Washington Watch   


PACE Moves to Get Back on Track

A nationwide and bipartisan coalition of PACE advocates is fighting to support states' rights and restore our country's PACE programs. Legislation entered in both houses of Congress would require that federal regulators and mortgage lenders treat PACE assessments like others and underwrite mortgages with PACE assessments. For more.

 

 
Featured Product

Biolite campstove, with USB charging:

 

Biolite stove
The Biolite stove is not only being utilized by backpackers who look to cut down on the fuel they carry, but the companion homestove is revolutionizing cooking in developing countries. The Biolite stove can  charge cell phones and LSD lights as well as producing heat which increases its usefulness across the board. For more.

 

From the Newsroom

  

States   

 

Keep it Clean!  

MD: As a country, we're becoming more savvy about energy and its impact on the environment, the economy, our health, and on our national security. However, as old technologies are modernized and new ones come to market, we still have a lot to learn.For more  

 

No Process for Resolving Air Pollution Problems  

ME: The common problem these families were facing was wood smoke from a neighbor's outdoor wood furnace coming into their home. You would expect that there would be some agreed-upon process for resolving this kind of problem. There's not. For more

 

Manchester Laundry to Reduce Air Emissions and Fund Cleaner Burning Wood Stove Purchases

NH: An industrial laundry in Manchester N.H. has agreed to settle claims by the EPA that it violated the Clean Air Act. It has agreed to pay a civil penalty of $65,000, to replace old, polluting wood stoves in southern New Hampshire with new, cleaner models. For more

 

Wood Stove Change-out Program Receives Funds 

OR: A wood stove replacement program in Oakridge has received some much-needed funds. Oregon DEQ awarded $420,000 to Lane Regional Air Protection Agency (LRAPA) to replace old, uncertified wood stoves with cleaner burning heating appliances. For more   

 

Vermont Speeds up the PACE on Energy Efficiency 

VT: Early next year, Vermont will become the only state in the country to move ahead with a national program that allows property owners to borrow money against their tax assessments to fund energy efficiency projects. For more

Upcoming Conferences and Webinars   

Maryland Clean Energy Summit 2011 

Bethesda, MD August 25-27

Be part of the clean energy discussion at this annual event.   From 10 - 10:30 Saturday the 27th, there will be a consumer workshop on wood and pellet heating. For more 

 

EPA Combined Heat and Power Partnership Meeting

Washington DC, October 5

The EPA will hold a CHP Partnership National Meeting, presented in coordination with the Clean Heat and Power Association. For more

 

Northeast Biomass Conference and Trade Show

Pittsburgh, PA October 11-13

This conference is meant to be a dynamic regional offshoot of the International Biomass Conference and Expo. For more

 

 

 
Please Support Our Work







Thanks Too...
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. The Alliance is a tax exempt 501 (c)(3) organization.

Alliance for Green Heat is funded in part through a grant by the Wood Education and Resource Center, Northeastern Area State and Private Forestry, U.S. Forest Service. AGH is an equal opportunity provider.

You can make a secure donation online through paypal here:

www.forgreenheat.org/support/donate

A special thanks to those who have contributed $2,000 or more between June 2009 and February 2011
-- Wood Education Research Center (USDA Forest Service)
-- Dr. William & Frances Ackerly
-- American Biomass
-- Arbolito Foundation
-- Family Alliance Foundation
-- Osprey Foundation
-- Ramsay Merriam Fund
-- Takoma Foundation

Become a Green Heat Founding Member: Make your donation here  

 

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