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4th Wood Stove Design Challenge
Stove designers, sponsors and consumers, please
register for the 2018 Challenge! Registration shows your potential interest in participating and is not a commitment.
Five teams have already signed up and more are in the works. We encourage everyone to click on the
consumer link to take a 4 minute survey.
AGH blog - A wood stove that makes a significant amount of electricity could add $1,000 to the price tag. Determining how long that will take to pay itself back is one of the objectives for the 2018 Wood Stove Design Challenge.
If you missed our webinar on automated wood stoves, you can listen to it here. Our presenters gave perspectives from the US and Europe about the potential for cleaner stoves using sensors and controllers.
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AGH Projects & Activities
 AGH - When Rod Tinnemore was invited to speak about wood stoves, he didn't sound like a regulator. He spoke his mind, he made people laugh and he was never at a loss for words. Rod was in charge of wood heater regulations in Washington State, the state with the toughest regulations in the country. By the time he retired in April 2017, he left behind a far-flung community of stakeholders who admired him - or at least respected his judgment.
AGH - Policies are being put in place in many counties, cities and towns to to 100% renewable, including heating fuels. The biomass community needs to be at the table as planners look for renewable heating solutions.
If you would like to receive notices of events and news in your state that may not be in the newsletter, please add your email and state here. (We do not rent, sell, give or share our email list to anyone.)
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Focus on the NSPS
AGH - The EPA is reversing lots of regulations, but getting them to take timely action of low-profile rules like wood stove regulations can be a tall order. HBPA is trying to avoid litigation, which is costly and unpredictable.
Farming Magazine - Good reporting on industry positions on EPA's new boiler regulations.
 Coeur d'Alene Press - Mark Freeman, CEO of Kuma Stoves in Idaho, testified at a hearing, saying that the EPA has required stoves to be 15 times cleaner than before.
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Focus on Change-Outs and Incentives
Bloomberg - A curious marriage between Harley-Davidson Inc. and the American Lung Association is over before it even began -- the latest twist in a tale of motorcycle fumes, wood smoke and shifting winds of American justice.
 AGH - This month, New York became the first state in the country to set a minimum efficiency requirement in an ongoing pellet stove incentive program. The State will now only provide its $1,500 - $2,000 rebates to pellet stoves that are listed as 70% efficiency (HHV) or higher on the EPA's list of certified stoves.
Change-out or fuel switching? This program only offers gas or electric heating for wood stove trade-ins. In areas with excessive wood smoke, this is probably the best option but also should include pellet stoves.
Incentives listed for Vermont, New York, and Maine.
In Vermont, The Clean Energy Development Fund at the state's Public Service Department is offering grant funding to help sugar makers install evaporators fueled with wood pellets or wood chips.
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Washington Watch
 The Biomass Thermal Utilization (BTU) Act was introduced in the House (H.R. 3161) and Senate (S. 1480), which would create a new tax credit under Sec. 25(D) of the tax code for purchasing and installing a biomass appliance that is at least 75 percent efficient. It would cover up to 30 percent of the purchase and installation costs of a qualifying appliance. The Sec. 25(C) credit only covered up to $300. To support the BTU Act,
please sign up here.
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Focus on Innovation
In the developing world, a key goal is simply getting smoke out of the house. AGH partner Aprovecho developed the auto-damper, which activates when a vertical stick above the surface of the cook top is pushed down by the bottom of the pot. The weight that holds the damper closed is pushed down, the damper opens, and the hot flue gases go up to contact the bottom of the pot.
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Focus on Firewood
 By providing free campfire wood at each campground, we are ensuring the wood is sourced locally and not brought from unknown locations or collected illegally from the surrounding park areas.
PA:
This bill includes a provision that would exempt firewood from state tax.
In South Australia there is a ban on selling wood that has more than 25% moisture content.
In Australia, forested areas are not as abundant as in the US, and as a result, firewood is more regulated. Kudos to the Firewood Association of Australia for helping consumers get seasoned, sustainably harvested wood.
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Focus on Health
Authors of this study expected to find much worse PM from the rising number of stoves in England. The Stove Industry Alliance says that one million stoves have been sold in the UK since 2010. Dr Fuller claimed that the trends were "puzzling" but says it may be that modern stoves are more efficient than older models.
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Most Liked Stories on Facebook
For breaking ne
ws, great photos, stove
innovation and more.
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International
Arctic: The wood and fossil fuels we burn affect extreme warming in the Arctic, and solutions begin with understanding how and how much.
UK: An article from the Stove Industry Alliance, the UK equivalent of the HBPA. While the US works towards 2020, 2022 is a game-changing deadline in Europe since all EU countries are required to only make and sell certified stoves then.
DC:
This state-level carbon tax, crafted as a fee and dividend, would include a tax on heating fuel, making renewable heating options more cost-effective. .
Don't forget about winter air in summer
UT:
This article makes a good case that wood heating is not well-suited for urban areas that experience frequent weather inversions.
Essex County pellet package
VT:
If you live in Essex County Vermont, now is the time to switch to bulk wood pellet heating by taking advantage of the specially priced conversion package brought to you from Northern Forest Center and Bourne's Energy.
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Misleading Advertisement of the Month
A Special Message from the CEO of Outdoor Boiler Care, Warren Walborn:
N
 ew Information...The EPA has banned outdoor wood boilers. These new regulations EFFECTIVE NOW allow homeowners to only install "high-efficiency" outdoor boilers. ... Brace yourself for more bad news... As of January 2020, you will no longer be able to install ANY outdoor boiler, according to the EPA. The technology does not currently exist to meet the EPA 2020 standards for wood burning. (It would appear that the EPA prefers that you burn oil from terrorist-sponsoring countries!)
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Upcoming Conferences and Webinars
Pasadena, CA, July 31-August 3, 2017
This conference provides a global forum on making electricity from heat. (AGH's Ken Adler is presenting a poster there and promoting the 2018 Wood Stove Design Challenge.)
The annual gathering of antique stove collectors and refurbishers includes a trade show, auction, bus tour, banquet
University Park, PA, September 12-14, 2017
The first major mid-Atlantic conference, hosted by the Pennsylvania Biomass Energy Association. (AGH's John Ackerly is a presenter.)
Ottawa, ON, September 18-20, 2017
The largest gathering for the Canadian wood pellet industry. (AGH's John Ackerly is a presenter.)
September 21, 2017, 1:30pm EST
Join this webinar to learn about the incentives available for advanced cordwood boilers, pellet boilers, and pellet stoves.
October 18, 2017
Uniting organizations across the country that support bioenergy. On this date, organizations will demonstrate the local benefits of bioenergy.
October 25, 2017, 1:00pm EST
Part of the LIFE Webinar series by NYSERDA.
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.
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.
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