November 2017
Green Heat News
Issue No. 99

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Price of Oil

October 23, 2017: $51.91

October 23, 2016: $50.61

  

Source: www.ycharts.com  

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: info@forgreenheat.org 

4th Wood Stove Design Challenge
 
 
Applications are coming in for the initial Nov. 1 deadline to become finalists and receive a $10,000 grant for the 2018 Wood Stove Design Challenge. In addition, the Organizing Committee is selecting one boiler to provide baseline electric power to the tent. Teams can apply up through Jan. 1 to become finalists.
 
Three new experts joined the Organizing Committee for the 2018 Stove Challenge, bringing more expertise and resources to the event. They are John Crouch of HPBA, Steven Law from the Ontario provincial government and James Rannels, who used to oversee the DOE's Solar Decathlon.

A huge thanks to the Osprey Foundation for committing $40,000 for the planning of the 2018 Design Challenge and to our new sponsors HPBA and Schott-Robax glass.  AGH is seeking additional financial and in-kind sponsors for this exciting event.

AGH and BTEC hosted the fourth webinar in a series leading up the 2018 Stove Challenge. This one featured Adam Baumgart-Getz of the EPA, Lisa Rector of NESCAUM and Jes Sign Anderson of the Danis Technological Institute. The speakers talked about repeatability, replicating consumer burning habits, cold start emission testing, etc.

As more homes and businesses go solar, wood and pellet stoves and boilers can help solve the duck curve dilemma by reducing evening demand for electric heating. As heat pumps become more popular, it adds to the demand for traditional fossil fuel electricity in the evening, after solar panels stop producing renewable electricity. This is partly why the DOE is funding our Stove Design Challenge.
Focus on Policy

Saxton explains the draft rules would be phased in, starting in 2020, when burning wood at home during the summer would be prohibited.
Then, in 2022, all "wood burning appliances," like stoves and fireplaces, would need to be registered. To qualify for registration, they would have to meet modern emissions standards.

Getting states to adopt renewable energy standards for thermal energy - just like so many have for electricity - is one of most important policies for thermal biomass. Its complicated stuff, but Charlie Niebling makes it accessible and he more than anyone got it into law in NH. Next up is VT and MA?
 
Draft of wood chip standard
A revised draft of the wood chip standard is now available for stakeholder comment. If you are interested in reviewing the standard, please email Jean Walsh walsh@asabe.org. This standard is vital to enhance the technical credibility and market confidence that will help expand the woodchip heating market.
 
Reflections of a NH reporter who once favored all biomass use and now he believes that only biomass for heat and CHP makes environmental sense.

"Wood pellet use for residential heating in southeast Alaska was evaluated as a cradle-to-grave life cycle analysis. When comparing the global warming potential of pellets, locally produced cordwood, and heating oil, we found that global warming potential was lower for all scenarios that included wood pellet substitution." 
Focus on Washington
Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt said on Monday that the federal tax credits for the wind and solar power industries should be eliminated.

The U.S. Energy Information Administration has released the October edition of its Short-Term Energy Outlook and Winter Fuels Outlook, predicting average household expenditures for all major home heating fuels will rise this winter due to expected colder weather and higher energy costs.   
 
Focus on Change-Outs
 
 
California now has a ongoing, funded, Wood Smoke Reduction Program that provides voluntary incentives to switch out old stoves with cleaner and more efficient alternatives.
A group from the Comox Valley argues that only heat pumps and gas heaters provide assured air quality benefits. "Switching from an old to a new wood stove is no guarantee of significant reduction in pollution.

Wood stove exchange aims to clear the air 
"Yes, old stoves pollute the most and are inefficient and burn more wood," said John Vere, a stove change out manager. "But even the new stoves, if improperly used, will still belch smoke. This is where education overall, is much more important than exchanging the stoves. People will still burn wet or poor quality firewood", he said.
 
Panel studies electrostatic precipitator
Fairbanks delayed consideration of using change out funds to install electrostatic precipitators.  AGH agrees that before a jurisdiction provides incentive money for electrostatic precipitators, they should run help a pilot program of at least 6 units to test over a winter.
 
With thousands of wood stoves in the CA San Lorenzo Valley, the District only had funding for about 35-40 stoves each year. At that rate, it would take hundreds of years to address the overall need for change.
 
Focus on Health

A study found households with new EPA certified wood stoves showed no change in indoor PM concentrations, compared to homes with old stoves. "PM decreased fairly dramatically in homes that received air filters [but] without a marked improvement in respiratory systems in children living in the homes," the study found.


A good piece of journalism that debunks the knee jerk comparisons of wood vs. tobacco smoke.

Air quality sensors can build awareness for air quality, provide information on the distribution of wood smoke within local communities and identify opportunities to improve the air. As sensors get smaller and more affordable, this will be possible in many more communities.
Focus on Firewood

Firewood Association of Australia      One of the reasons theFirewood Association of Australia (FAA) was  formed is to distinguish ourselves from the backyard operators. Our members.  It is vital to the credibility of the FAA that we have 100% member compliance with The Code.  
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International

Canada: Small municipalities and First Nations communities are driving the bioeconomy by taking jurisdiction over forest resources and allocating biomass forest byproducts to their own interests, said Lambe. Bio-heat can cut home heating costs by 60% in a variety of communities.   

Finnish incentives fuel 'revolution' in thinking
Finland:  Unlike the UK, that included incentivizes for wood stoves (instead of pellet), "it is now standard for Finnish communities with populations of 100,000 to 200,000 people to derive their heat entirely from the burning of biomass" with district heating.
  
Ireland: Irish Minister for Climate Actio said there is a need to go further than the "smoky coal ban" in 26 urban areas that was effective in reducing particulate matter and sulphur dioxide. He has committed to extending a ban nationwide for the 2018 home heating season. 

All is not pristine in New Zealand
New Zealand: With limited availability of natural gas and expensive electricity many New Zealanders, especially those in the South Island, rely on wood burning to heat their homes.  

Spain: A new 12.5 MW wood chip district heating system in Spain with will initially provide 3,000 homes and expand to an additional 4,000 homes. 
 
States  
           
MT: The Health Department has staff certified to read wood smoke opacity levels. When we find a violation, we follow up with the offender with conversations with the stove owner. Our philosophy is to work with people until we can't.   
 
Watch those firewood measurements this winter
NV: A kitchen cord is not a legal measurement of firewood. Neither are running, standing, fencing, country or long cords, according to the Nevada Department of Agriculture..

NH: A regional not-for-profit is trying to get more people to consider next generation wood pellet furnaces to heat their homes.
 
Vermont fill new wood energy position
VT: Meet Emma Hanson, the young woman who just took the new Vermont job of state wood energy coordinator. The state has an ambitious goal of doubling the number of schools, homes and businesses that heat with wood by 2035.

VT: Vermont recently hired a new wood energy coordinator. The job aims to double the current number of businesses, schools and homes using wood heat by 2035. But what are the benefits of switching to wood heat and how much will it cost you?

VT: The future of fossil-free energy at Goddard College was marked by a groundbreaking ceremony Friday. About 25 people attended the much-anticipated heralding of a large woodchip boiler plant expected to reduce the college's energy costs by more than half.    

Upcoming Conferences and Webinars
 
Saratoga Springs, NY, February 13-14, 2018
Join together with industry leaders working in the residential energy efficiency industry for a cutting edge educational experience.

Wels, Austria, February 28 - March 2, 2018
The World Sustainable Energy Days (WSED) are one of Europe's largest annual conferences in this field.

Wels, Austria, February 28 - March 1, 2018
With more than 500 participants, the European Pellet Conference held in Wels is the largest annual pellet event in the world.

Hearth, Patio and Barbecue Expo 
Nashville, TN, March 7-10, 2018
HPBExpo is being held at the Music City Center in Nashville, Tennessee with Outdoor Burn Exhibits located across from the center.

Portland, OR, April 18-21, 2018
Over 30 hours of business and tech breakout session, trade show featuring more than 80 booths, and much more.

Denmark, May 14 - 18, 2018
The EUBCE brings together industry, scientists, research labs and agencies, and always has a focus on biomass thermal.
 
Davis, CA, September 10, 2018
ASIC brings together stakeholders from academia, government, and communities to promote and advance air pollution sensors.


 
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Thanks
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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

For ongoing AGH programs and activities
-- William and Frances Ackerly
-- Arbolito Foundation 
-- Aprovecho Research Center
-- Classic Heat Source
-- Ann Down
-- Tina and Dave Egan
-- Family Foundation
-- Sat Jiwan Khalsa
-- New York State Energy & Research Development Authority
-- Osprey Foundation
-- Jim & Patty Rouse Foundation 
-- Julie Segre and Nick Salafsky
-- Victoria Sujata
-- Takoma Foundation
-- University of Maryland Extension Service    
-- U.S. Forest Service
-- West Penn Power Energy & Sustainability Fund

As sponsors of the Wood Stove Design Challenge
-- Chimney Safety Institute of America  
-- Department of Energy, Bioenergy Technology Office
-- Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves
-- DC Dept. of Transportation, Urban Forestry Administration
-- Schott-Robax
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