Office Equipment Needed
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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: [email protected]
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| 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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And stay up to date with all things wood heat. To sign up,
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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 StoveBuilding 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.
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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 [email protected].
 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.
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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.
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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.
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Firewood, Education & Film
New EPA Burnwise Video: Wet Wood is a Waste
 The "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 use: Split 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.
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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.
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| 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.
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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
Sarato ga 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.
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Photo of the Month: Smoking Gun
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