March 2017
Green Heat News
Issue No. 91

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Price of Oil

February 21, 2017: $54.02

February 21, 2016: $31.37

  

Source:www.ycharts.com  

Top stories in past issues
AGH People

Ken Adler is joining the Alliance for Green Heat as a Senior Technology Advisor. Ken worked for 30 years for the EPA on mobile source air pollution and agricultural pollution. For the last five years, Ken has also been President of Eagle Design LLC, a company that uses thermoelectric generators and innovative designs to generate electricity from wood stoves and gas fireplaces. Ken is also a Senior Contributing Scientist for the Environmental Defense Fund.

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 

AGH Projects & Activities
 
Today, the Alliance for Green Heat announced the fourth Wood Stove Design Challenge, returning to the National Mall in Washington, DC in November 2018. The event will be free and open to the public and includes rigorous testing of the next generation of technology to make wood stoves consistently cleaner, more efficient, easier to use, and, like solar energy, a renewable source of electricity.  

New federal wood heater regulations require outdoor boilers to be cleaner, but its still up to states to establish and maintain property line set backs to protect neighbors from excessive smoke. When poorly operated, even the new qualified and certified wood boilers can be nuisance boilers.

Even though President Trump is a climate change skeptic and put the head of Exxon in charge of the State Department, could he still do something good for our modest slice of the residential renewable energy movement? We think so.
AGH develops coal heating paper 
The Alliance for Green Heat is developing a short paper summarizing the trends in coal heating in the US, and measures that may improve emissions from coal stoves. If you have expertise in coal heating or are a retailer who sells coal stoves, we would welcome your input. Please contact us.    
Focus on European testing
 
For the first time, there is an EPA approved test lab in Europe that can certify wood stoves and boilers. Its in Goteborg, Sweden and it should improve the exchange of innovation, ideas, and technologies between Europe and the US. Ben Myren's lab in Washington State is the only one not approved through 2020.     

A test protocol for measuring black carbon from wood stoves has been developed and may be integrated into voluntary, eco-labeling initiatives in Europe. AGH visited the lab in Denmark and witnessed the protocol development last year. 
Focus on Innovation
 
The MF Fire is now on sale, having received their certification approval from the EPA. Earlier versions competed and did well in our Wood Stove Design Challenges, and we are very excite about this and any other automated stove that takes the guesswork out of the consumer's hands, and leaves optimizing combustion up to the same type of sensors that operate cars and most other modern combustion.

A revolutionary 5 kWe cogen pellet boiler prototype system, designed and manufactured by OkoFEN, with Qnergy's Stirling engine inside was introduced to the market.

A more environmentally friendly wood-burning stove, with a remote control that lets you set the room temperature and tells you when it's time to refuel. That's the result of a Danish R&D collaboration to bring an electronically controlled wood-burning stove on the market.

Woodstock Soapstone developed a stove for Navajo American Indians designed to burn wood and sub-bituminous coal that is mined the reservation  The EPA is running a change-out program and is testing emission on coal, to ensure this stove will be a significant improvement.  The Alliance for Green Heat is a partner in this project. 

Purple Air, a group empowering citizen air monitoring, maintains a map of the US that has more than 200 citizen hosted air quality monitors. AGH encourages people to install these devices to determine if your neighborhood has high levels of wood smoke. They cost $200. 
Featured Video
 
When a local school in Burns, Oregon needed to replace an aging boiler, community leaders discovered that a biomass district heating system would dramatically lower their energy costs and help keep local forest healthy.

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From the Newsroom       

International

Canada: The province is promising grants to help pay for new, more efficient wood stove models. The grant will be funded through a new cap and trade program.   

States  
           
AK: A group of homeowners are installing wood pellet boilers to heat their homes. Not to be confused with wood burning stoves, these high-tech boilers have been marketed as a cheaper alternative to heating oil, at least in the long run.   

IL: Around the beginning of December, a biomass boiler arrived at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign's energy farm. Currently, the university is busy installing the boiler.
 
MN: On those days when inversions leave the community breathing the byproducts of wood stove fuel combustion, Helena's chance of exceeding the federal limit for air quality increases.

MN: A dispute over a wood stove and a cease and desist order that has been in place since 2011 dominated the Preston City Council meeting on Tuesday, January 17.

MT: Stage two warnings mean Missoula residents with wood stoves must use an alternative source of heat and industries have to cut visible emissions. Stage one alerts limit wood stove use to those with special permits.  
SD: Homes on the reservation are often substandard, without central heat or proper electricity. Local activist Bamm Brewer says, "So many people here have wood stoves because it's the cheapest way to heat your home."  

UT: One Tuesday in January, Salt Lake City ranked number one in the nation for the worst air quality levels, according to the EPA's air quality monitoring website. A mandatory action day where wood stove use was banned was put into effect.

WA: Pellet and wood stove manufacturer Hearth & Home Technologies announced they will be shuttering production operations at the Colville Quadra-Fire facility later this year. HHT confirmed that this has nothing to do with the new EPA stove regulations.

Upcoming Conferences
 
Wels, Austria, March 1-2, 2017 
This is the largest annual pellet heating event in the world.

Atlanta, GA, March 1-4, 2017 
HPBExpo attracts thousands of distributors and retailers that "live and breathe the indoor-outdoor lifestyle."

Louisville, KY, March 15-18, 2017
The NCSG National Convention features the nation's largest trade show focused on the chimney and hearth industry.

Nashville, TN, March 19-22, 2017
Join over 1,000 residential energy efficiency professionals for four days of outstanding educational sessions, networking, and inspiration.

Malta, New York, March 30, 2017 
This full day design-focused workshop examines best practices for combining modern, high efficiency wood-fire boilers with hydronic distribution systems. Sponsored by NYSERDA.

Minneapolis, MN, April 10, 2017 
Heating the Midwest is a network of thermal biomass advocates working to increase awareness and usage of biomass for heat.

Ketchikan, AK, April 11-12, 2017
The fourth annual Alaska wood energy conference, supporting Alaska's growing reliance on modern wood heating.

Minneapolis, MN, April 10-12, 2017 
This dynamic event unites industry professionals from all sectors of the world's interconnected biomass utilization industries.

La Spezia, Italy, April 23-May 2, 2017 
A theoretical and practical workshop held by Igor Kuznetsov open to everyone.

Burlington, VT, April 25-27, 2017  
Speakers, panel discussion, tours, the expo and more mak this the premier thermal biomass event for industry, government, researchers and non-profit
stakeholders.

National Firewood Workshop 
Statesville, NC, April 27, 2017 
The National Firewood Workshop will be held in Statesville next year. AGH presents on firewood policies at this annual conference.

Fort Lauderdale, FL, June 26-28, 2017 
This conference is for those whose mission is to strengthen the energy safety net of the people they serve.

University Park, PA, September 12-14, 2017
Hosted by the PA Biomass Energy Association.
Ottawa, ON, September 18-20, 2017 
The largest gathering for the Canadian wood pellet industry.

Denver, CO, October 5-15, 2017 
Fourteen college teams will compete in the DOE competition.


 
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A special thanks to those who have contributed $2,000 or more since Jan. 1, 2013

-- Arbolito Foundation 
-- Chimney Safety Institute of America  
-- Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves
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-- U.S. Forest Service
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