March 2013
Green Heat NewsAGH logo
Issue No. 43

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Price of Oil

February 11, 2013: $97.01

February 11, 2012: $98.68

 

Source:www.ycharts.com  

In Case You Missed it

Top stories in past issues:  

IRS Withdraws Right of Shaver Furnaces to Tax Credit

 

The Washington Post Gets Black Carbon Story Wrong - Again  

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 credit. Contact: melissa@forgreenheat.org 

 Design Challenge Judge Profile
Bill Clarke is the President of the Osprey Foundation, which seeks to empower individuals and communities in Maryland and overseas through education, health, economic opportunity and human rights in a sustainable way. He is very involved in an initiative to build clean cook stoves in Guatemala, and is also a promoter of the electric car. He and his wife also travel regularly to Cuba and Guatemala to do mission work through the Baltimore Presbytery. 


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Wood Stove Design Challenge Updates  

  

Three great articles about the Challenge have surfaced in Popular Mechanics, the Nashua Telegraph (New Hampshire Paper) and the DOE Brookhaven website. There was also an interesting article from Alaska about an inventor designing a electricity producing wood stove. 

Meet Challenge Finalists & Partners at the HBPExpo

Going to the Expo in Orlando next week? Check out the booths of the Wood Stove Design Challenge finalists and meet some of the Organizers as well as David Agrell the Popular Mechanics reporter covering it. Click the title for booth numbers and contact info.

 

9 Reasons Wood Stove Manufacturers Don't Use Sensors

Temperature and oxygen sensors make scores of products operate as cleanly and efficiently as possible by regulating combustion, reducing particulate emissions and maximizing efficiency. So, why hasn't any North American manufacturer integrated them into wood stoves yet? 


5 Things That Make a Great Stove
Building a stove is simple. Building a great stove is hard. A great stove (1) reduces fuel use by 50 percent, (2) reduces black carbon by 60 percent, (3) reduces childhood illness from particulates by 30%, (4) is affordable and (5) gets funded. This is a list for developing world cookstoves, but it could be similar to one for wood heating stoves. Read about the quest for great wood cook stoves.

New Partners & Sponsors (& Opportunities Available)
DOE Brookhaven National Laboratories joins as a partner of the Wood Stove Design Challenge and the Masonry Heater Association of North America joins as both a partner and a sponsor. Additional sponsorship opportunities are available. If interested, contact melissa@forgreenheat.org
 

Alliance for Green Heat Projects & Activities 

                 

Rebates for Stoves Reach Less Affluent Families 

Initial data released by the Maryland shows there have been more wood and pellet stove rebates awarded per capita in the more rural and less affluent counties of Maryland. This provides some early indication that the Clean Burning Wood Stove Grant Program has succeeded in delivering more benefits to the areas it was intended to help.   

 

Maryland Wood Heat Retailer Survey  

The Alliance is undergoing a survey of Maryland wood and pellet stove retailers to provide the state with helpful feedback on its rebate pilot program. If you are a retailer who sells stoves to Marylanders but did not receive a link to the survey from us, please email melissa@forgreenheat.org.  

 

A last minute attempt by a manufacturer to derail new outdoor boiler regulations in Utah failed. The State's Air Quality Board passed innovative and balanced regulations that allow the installation of EPA qualified outdoor boilers in rural counties but ban them in populated counties that do not meet federal air quality standards. 
 

Clarification on Federal Wood Stove Tax Credit    

Many wood heat businesses and organizations, including the Alliance, had been incorrectly reporting that the federal tax credit for qualified biomass heaters was 10% of the cost up to $300. The credit is a flat $300. Most websites should now be correct.     

 

Update on 99% Efficiency Advertisement Story  

In January we posted a story urging consumers to beware of boilers advertising "99% comb. efficiency." Click the title for updated blog post on this issue and the manufacturers response.  

 

Focus on Renewable Portfolio Standards


Rekindling Wood Energy in America        

A group of wood energy experts including university professors and foresters like Lew McCreery of the USDA (left) wrote an opinion piece on the importance of including thermal biomass in Renewable Portfolio Standards. If not properly crafted, new renewable policies will waste biomass energy, they say.

  

Maryland Pushes for Thermal in RPS

Bills in the Maryland House and Senate would give credit to thermal biomass under the state's RPS. Solar thermal and geothermal are already included. The State Department of Legislative Services determined that this could have a meaningful impact on small businesses with minimal impact on the state's budget.  

 

Norway, NYT, Firewood & Colbert 


Firewood Splits Norwegians - and Stephen Colbert too  

Norway: A recent Norwegian firewood television program, viewed by 20% of the national population, has been the subject of much international curiosity. But Americans can't fathom why so many Norwegians were glued to the image of a fire burning on screen for eight hours. Stephen Colbert explains.   

Firewood, Education & Film             


New EPA Burnwise Video: Wet Wood is a Waste        

Wet Wood is a WasteThe "Wet Wood is a Waste" PSA explains how to use a moisture meter to test wood to see if it is dry enough to burn. Moisture meters are available in all sizes and can cost as little as $20. Properly dried wood should have a reading of 20% or less.    

 

Another New Burnwise Video: Split, Stack, Cover, Store 

This video provides 4 easy steps on how to dry wood for proper useSplit wood to a variety of sizes but no larger than a six-inch wedge, stack wood away from a building and off the ground,
cover the wood with a tarp or woodshed and store the wood to dry for 6-12 months. 

Build a Safer Fire and Breathe Easier
FEMA, known for hurricane and tornado relief, has produced a series of videos illustrating how to use and maintain fireplaces and wood stoves.  

 

Focus on Stoves  

         

The spike in home heating fuel prices, the bitterly cold weather and a tax credit that went into effect at the start of the year are all incentives pushing many New Hampshire residents to turn to wood pellets to heat their homes.


Throughout history, wood stove technology has developed to heat homes, but not all of it has been equally clean and efficient.  Popular Mechanics takes a look at how cordwood-fueled stoves have progressed over the years, culminating in various types of ultra efficient stoves that will be on display at the Wood Stove Decathlon in November.

From the Newsroom   

State  

  

Fairbanks, Trying to Stay Warm, Chokes On Smoke 

AK: Lately, Fairbanks, Alaska has been experiencing temperatures as low as -40 degrees Fahrenheit. As wood and coal stoves and boilers crackle all over town, the air pollution has some residents calling the soot-enveloped town the "epicenter of hideousness."

        

IN:  Up to $5,000 in rebates are available to northern Indiana residents who change out or retrofit their older, high-emissions wood stoves or boilers with cleaner and more efficient ones. The program recently expanded to include 32 counties and is effective until June 30, 2013.

Bill Would Allow Creation of RECs for Thermal Biomass 

NM: Pending legislation in New Mexico would enable renewable energy certificates for the generation and use of thermal energy produced from renewable resources, with extra credits assigned to energy generated from forest biomass.   

 

Company Confirms Plans for $120 Mil. Wood Pellet Plant  

ME: A subsidiary of Cate Street Capital released a statement confirming reports that it plans to construct a wood pellet plant near the port of Eastport marine cargo terminal in 2014. The plant would produce 200,000 - 300,000 tons of pellets per year.     

 

Zoning Law for Outdoor Wood Boilers Discussed 

NY: The Oneida Planning Commission debated reducing its 200 foot property line setback for outdoor wood boilers to 150 feet. Even with 200 foot setbacks, Oneida officials are still receiving complaints about pollution.

 

WA: Air pollution has troubled Spokane for decades. Keeping the air from getting worse has taken years of work by government agencies that rely on cooperation from residents who like wood heat. 
 
Upcoming Conferences and Webinars
          

Hearth, Patio, & Barbeque Expo 

Orlando, FL, March 13 - 16, 2013 

North America's largest indoor-outdoor living showcase. AGH and Popular Mechanics will be there, along with a few Challenge finalists.    

 

Northeast Biomass Heating Expo

Saratoga Springs, NY, April 3 - 5, 2013

The 5th annual event unites a diverse audience from the biomass community to break barriers for biomass thermal and CHP systems. The Alliance is a co-sponsor and has helped plan this vital gathering of stakeholders.  

 

Heat Metering Biomass Stakeholder Session   

Saratoga Springs, NY, April 3, 2013 

An ASTM E44.25 task group session, sponsored by BTEC, will explore the inclusion and application of biomass technologies in E44.25 standards activities. Registration is required. 

 

International Biomass Conference & Expo

Minneapolis, MN, April 8 - 10, 2013

The largest gathering of biomass professionals in North America.  

 

European Conference on Renewable Heating & Cooling

Dublin, Ireland, April 22 - 23, 2013

This two day, 4th annual conference will cover solar thermal, geothermal and biomass thermal.   

 

Carlton, MN, April 24 - 26, 2013

The event brings together those interested in supporting and expanding the use of biomass for heat and CHP in the Midwest.

 

Pellet Fuel Institute Annual Conference

Asheville, North Carolina, July 28 - 30, 2013 

PFI's annual event dedicated to the pellet industry. 

    

Photo of the Month: Smoking Gun  

         

 



 
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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. The Alliance is a tax exempt 501 (c)(3) organization.
 
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A special thanks to those who have contributed $2,000 or more between June 2009 and January 2013

-- Dr. William & Frances Ackerly
-- American Biomass
-- Arbolito Foundation
-- Constellation Energy
-- Family Alliance Foundation
-- Osprey Foundation
-- Ramsay Merriam Fund
-- Jim & Patty Rouse Foundation 
-- Takoma Foundation
-- University of Maryland Extension Service
-- Wood Education and Resource Center, Northeastern Area State and Private Forestry, U.S. Forest Service 

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