October 2015
Green Heat News
Issue No. 74

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Price of Oil

September 21, 2015: $46.67

September 21, 2014: $92.43

  

Source:www.ycharts.com  

In Case You Missed it

Top stories in past issues:  

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: [email protected] 

Pellet Stove Challenge Update

We are seeking innovative high performing stoves or prototypes from inventors, universities, and companies. The stoves will all be tested and prizes given out in various categories. 
The Pellet Stove Design Challenge Workshop will be held at DOE's Brookhaven National Lab from April 6-8, 2016. The workshop features a series of presentations, lab demonstrations and roundtable discussions on pellet stove design, testing, operation, upkeep and fuel. Registration is $100 and limited to 100 people.

The Alliance winds up pellet stove endurance testing 
AGH tested 6 popular pellet stoves over a 30 day period to see how 24/7 operation and lack of regular cleaning impacted efficiency and emissions. The results will be released in mid October.  Adam Baumgart-Getz and Larry Brockman, two key biomass stove experts at the EPA visited AGH to see how the testing was proceeding.
 

The most recent additions are Rob Rizzo, who oversees renewable thermal programs for the state of Massachusetts, and Ray Albrecht, a thermal biomass engineer. 

MF Fire just announced that the new Mulciber will be ready to be shipped in the summer of 2016.  On the heels of Quadrafire's Adventure, it will be the second automated wood stove on the US market and it doesn't try to hide its advanced technology.  A digital screen gives the operator real time data.
 

Washington Watch               

    

Republicans thaw on climate change 

A group of Republicans signed a call to action on climate change in advance of the Pope's visit, led by Rep. Chris Gibson (R-NY). The story has a Tarm Bioomass slide behind Rep. Gibson.     

 

NSPS Updates

Voluntary Hangtag - The EPA is in last stages of finalizing a voluntary hangtag that manufacturers who already meet the 2020 emission standards can use.  The hangtag will enable consumers to easily recognize the cleanest stoves and it will also indicate if the stove has been tested with cordwood, recognizing those companies who design, build and test stoves as their customers will use them.

Litigation update - Filing deadlines for the lawsuits were extended until mid-November.  Some issues could be settled during discussions with EPA and the November filings will show which issues litigants will be pursuing.

Compliance - NSPS compliance is an ongoing issue. Stove manufacturers were supposed to issue updated owner's manuals, few have, for example. One company that makes pellet stoves under different brands reportedly told retailers that certain pellet stoves that had been exempt when manufactured, could still be sold after Jan. 1, 2016.
Featured Video
 
Craftsman Jesse Horn started Smoke & Flame - North America's only premium, handcrafted firewood manufacturer. In his tiny shop in Vancouver, BC, he and an apprentice labour over perfect bundles of logs which may sell for $1,000.
 

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From the Newsroom     
 
International

Canada: The College of New Caledonia is partnering on a research project to see how thermoelectric generation technology can best generate power in this type of stove.

UK: The UK biomass heat sector is experiencing turbulent times, due to a near-perfect storm of market factors, subsidy review and fallout from dramatic growth in the industry since the introduction of the Renewable Heat Incentive in November.

States

AK: Three biomass boilers are being shipped to Haines, Alaska to heat a variety of buildings throughout town. The boilers will utilize either wood pellets or locally produced wood chips as a feedstock.

Biomass utilization grants
AZ: Arizona State Forestry, with funding provided by the USDA Forest Service, is soliciting cost-share project proposals for woody biomass utilization projects.   

CA: Since late 2014, Mono County's program has replaced 103 smoky woodstoves and open fireplaces throughout the county with new, more efficient and significantly cleaner heating systems. 
   
CA: The rule proposed by the Bay Area Air Quality Management District would have barred homes from being sold or rented in nine Bay Area counties unless open-hearth fireplaces were replaced or retrofitted with cleaner burning-wood devices, or gas or electric fueled ones. 
 
CA: The Bay Area Air Quality Management District is seeking public comment on proposed amendments to its wood burning regulation, designed to protect public health from hazardous fine particle pollution.

IL: The American Lung Association is expanding its Wood Stove Changeout program to include open and basic fireplaces.

MA: Many people are buying wood pellet fuel early. Prices are $20 more than last year, at $280 - $320 a ton.

ME: The American Lung Association launched a program to distribute $41,000 in vouchers to residents who swap their old wood stoves for cleaner-burning wood, pellet or gas stoves. 

ME: A food editor talks about how the benefits of heating with local fuel are like the movement to eat local.

ME: Lignetics acquired the Geneva pellet plant in Maine, giving it a total annual capacity of 550,000 tons from its 6 plants.  

MT: If you live in Ravalli County, use a wood stove and have young children, a new study might be able to help you improve the air quality indoors - and provide a little cash on the side. 

ND: Wood waste is the heating fuel of choice at the Bismarck State College Aquatic and Wellness Center.

NH: A changeout program in Cheshire County has $1,000 vouchers for new wood stoves and $1,500 for new pellet or gas stoves.

OR: Does biomass cause pollution? Yes, but in varying degrees and compared to other fuels, the answer is not cut and dried.

VT: Vermont Law School released a report on sustainable ways to increase the use of woody biomass for electricity generation while protecting Vermont's forests. 

WA: "Uncertified" stoves cause more pollution than the newer ones, which is why they're being outlawed next week in parts of Pierce County that struggles with air quality.

Read more here: http://www.thenewstribune.com/news/local/crime/article35920068.html#storylink=cpy
 
Upcoming Conferences and Webinars

October 5 - December 11, 2015
This comprehensive, ten-week online course is designed for engineers, installers, designers, and professionals.

Anchorage, AK, October 7, 2015
This lecture, held at 5:30 PM local time, is put on by the Anchorage Cooperative Extension Service.

State College, PA, October 7-8, 2015
In 15 short years, we have turned sustainable energy into a powerful mainstream topic. What will the next 15 years look like? Who will lead?

Renewable Energy Vermont Conference and Expo
Burlington, VT, October 8-9, 2015
Renewable Energy 2015 (RE 2015) is Vermont's annual convention bringing together key players in the renewables sector.

Cherry Hill, NJ, October 20-21, 2015
This conference offers education in home performance and weatherization. 

October 21, 2015
A nationwide day of advocacy for all kinds of heat and power generated by wood biomass and agricultural waste.

4th NH Biomass Boiler Operations Workshop
Glencliff Home, Benton, NH, October 23, 2015
Save the date. 

Biomass Thermal Summit
Washington DC, Nov. 17 -18, 2015
To become a partner group, contact emanuel.wagner@biomas
s thermal.org at BTEC.

Orlando, FL, January 23-27, 2016
Part of the 2016 ASHRAE Winter Conference.

Kirkland, WA, January 29-31, 2016
Save the date.

Saratoga Springs, NY, February 9-10, 2016
This conference offers education in home performance and weatherization. Agenda proposals are now being accepted.

Verona, Italy, February 24-28, 2016
Progetto Fuoco is a global event for wood-fire heating, with an international exhibition of plants and materials.

Wels, Austria, February 24-26, 2016
A conference to present the work of young researchers in the field of energy efficiency (English only).

New Orleans, March 17-19, 2016
North America's largest indoor-outdoor living industry showcase.

Save the date: Northeast Biomass Heating Expo
Burlington, VT, April 29-May 1, 2016

Pellet Stove Design Challenge
Upton New York, April 6-8, 2016
A pellet stove technology competition, workshops, hands-on-learning, roundtables, and much more. Stove designs now being accepted for the competition.


 
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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.
 
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 since Jan. 1, 2013

-- William Ackerly
-- Arbolito Foundation 
-- Chimney Safety Institute of America 
-- England Stove Works
-- Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves
-- New York State Energy & Research Development Authority
-- Osprey Foundation
-- Jim & Patty Rouse Foundation 
-- Schott-Robax
-- Victoria Sujata
-- University of Maryland Extension Service  
-- DC Dept. of Transportation, Urban Forestry Administration
-- U.S. Forest Service
-- West Penn Power Energy & Sustainability Fund

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