Happy Holidays!
 
Heating the Midwest has had an exciting year, led by the completion of a terrific annual conference and expo in Harris, MI.  HTM has also formed a stronger organizational structure, reinvigorated Action Teams, and partnered with national and regional organizations to advance our mission of increased biomass thermal.
 
Moving into 2017, HTM is again co-locating with the International Biomass Conference & Expo (IBCE), held in Minneapolis, Minnesota.  HTM will occur on Monday, April 10, and attendees will have the opportunity to fill their day with key presentations and networking at the conference and expo, plus the evening opening of the IBCE exhibit hall.  If you are interested in submitting a presentation for HTM 2017, please submit presentation ideas by December 28 here.
 
Thank you for supporting Heating the Midwest in 2016, and we hope you have a wonderful start to 2017!

In this Newsletter:
surey
              Survey - Your Input is Valued!

Please watch check your email inbox  (or follow this link) for a survey being conducting on the last 2016 HTM Conference & Expo, and future planning.  Please take a moment to response as your insight and feedback is very important and valued as HTM plans for future events.  Thank you in advance!


BTECcouncil
Dane Floyd elected to Biomass Thermal Energy Council (BTEC) board of directors

Dane Floyd, President and CEO of Biomass Engineering and Equipment has been elected to serve on the Biomass Thermal Energy Council (BTEC) board of directors. BTEC advances the sustainable use of wood and agricultural biomass for clean, efficient heat and combined heat and power to meet America's energy needs and strengthen local economies.
 
 "I am honored to serve on the board of BTEC, whose mission I so believe in. I am committed to expanding the membership and widening the educational outreach because I believe we are stronger with numbers and facts. The facts are on our side and we just need more people telling the successful story or our contribution to the economy."
 
Biomass Engineering and Equipment designs and manufactures machinery for the biomass and wood processing industries.
LockheedMartin
Biomass Engineering and Equipment (BE&E) announces that equipment supplied to Lockheed Martin's Owego, New York bioenergy plant has gone online. The system transforms wood and other industrial waste materials into electricity through the process of gasification. BE&E supplied a turn-key storage and feed system including two live floor mobile container bins, receiving bins, and the conveyors.
 
The overall goal of the project is to use site generated waste materials for power generation and to significantly reduce the amount of waste going to landfills.   
 
BE&E president and CEO, Dane Floyd, commented that "We are proud to have been chosen as a supplier for this revolutionary facility. What can be achieved with these small scale gasifiers is truly phenomenal.  I see the goal of making factories land fill free while providing considerable energy back to the process and even the grid is one step closer. One day this technology will be a part of every major production site; hopefully in my lifetime!"?
Biomass Engineering and Equipment designs and manufactures machinery for the biomass and wood processing industries.

NVinstall
Hungry Mother Organics - Minden, NV
 
Hungry Mother Organics, an aquaponic
facility in Minden, NV, is taking positive steps
to reducing their carbon footprint.  Aquaponics is a system of aquaculture in which waste produced by farmed fish supplies nutrients for plants to grow hydroponically, which in turn purifies the water.
 
Hungry Mother Organics installed a WoodMaster Commercial Series CS300 and CS500 to reduce their heating costs and keep their business sustainable.  They installed a 30 ton silo to allow for bulk pellet delivery.  The WoodMaster Commercial Series boilers will heat the 21,750 square foot facility and displace their natural gas usage.

 Arizona
News from Arizona
Coal burning plant experiments with burning woody biomass

Fundingopp
Funding Opportunities

DOE Small Business Voucher Round 3 Open:
2017 Wood Innovations Program Request for Proposals:  http://www.na.fs.fed.us/werc/wip/2017-rfp.shtm

USDA Rural Energy for America Program (REAP) Grant Open for Applications: 
http://www.rd.usda.gov/programs-services/rural-energy-america-program-renewable-energy-systems-energy-efficiency

swet
Have Biomass Project Ideas for SWET?

Michigan Statewide Wood Energy Team
Contact: Ray Miller - [email protected]
 
Minnesota Statewide Wood Energy Team
Contact: Mark Lindquist - [email protected]

Wisconsin Statewide Wood Energy Team

free
Free Publications
 
Biomass Magazine and Pellet Mill Magazine are free to subscribers in the USA.  Here's link to sign up and there is also free e-newsletters, free webinars and more: 

BTEC Newsletter:  If you are interested in receiving the Biomass Thermal Energy Council's weekly biomass newsletter and other news releases, you are encouraged to sign-up at http://biomassthermal.org/mailingForm.asp

volunteer
Heating the Midwest-Become an Action Team Volunteer!
 
If you have a specific area of interest related to biomass thermal, we welcome your participation in one or all of HTM's three action teams-Biomass Combustion Technologies, Policy & Benefits, and Biomass Resources & Demographics. Is your time often stretched? No problem. Time committed to the HTM effort is volunteer time. The teams meet monthly via conference call, and calls are limited to one hour in respect of members' time and busy schedules. Members may choose to volunteer more of their time individually to support Action Team specific projects as they arise.  The work of each of the action teams involves developing "boots on the ground" projects for spurring action, discussing industry challenges in each sector and how to possibly address, networking and supporting the overall goals and vision of the Heating the Midwest with Renewable Biomass initiative in an effort to grow demand and expand marketing opportunities in the biomass thermal sector, and create awareness of biomass thermal. Following is a list of the schedule for the action team calls:
  
Biomass Combustion Technologies Action Team
Meets first Tuesday of each month at 9:00 a.m. CST
  
Biomass Policy & Benefits Action Team
Meets second Tuesday of each month at 9:00 a.m. CST

Biomass Resources & Demographics Action Team
Meets third Monday of each month at 10:00 a.m. CST
 
For more detailed information on the Biomass Combustion Technologies or Policy & Benefits Action Teams, please contact Nan Larson at [email protected] or via phone at: (507) 537-6020. And for details pertaining to the Biomass Resources & Demographics Action Team, please contact Becky Philipp at [email protected] or via phone at (218) 280-8575.

callfornews
Call for Your Midwest Biomass Stories and Events for December Newsletter

As you've seen month after month; companies, governments, and communities around the Midwest are making progress on biomass heating and combined heat and power (CHP) programs and projects. If you have a story or event to contribute for next month, please submit by close of business the 3rd Wednesday of the month to  [email protected].  And, if you'd like to be on the list to receive upcoming newsletters, please contact Ashley Harguth at [email protected].