Green Heat News
February 2019
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The attorneys general for New York, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Oregon, Vermont, and Washington, warned the EPA that nothing in the Clean Air Act allows the EPA to issue new source performance standards and then permit manufacturers to continue to sell noncompliant devices after the standard takes effect.
The full text of the comments by Attorney Generals to the EPA.
With EPA staff furloughed during the government shut-down, the proposed changes to the stove and boiler regulations were temporarily put on hold.
"Furloughs are not allowing staff to hold meetings or receive comments on a proposal to delay when Obama-instituted rules on wood-burning heaters go into effect."
The public is invited to submit comments
proposed changes
that would allow dirtier furnaces and boilers to remain on the market for an additional two year 'sell-through period." AGH and others requested an extension to the Jan. 14 comment deadline. The
second comment deadline
is Wednesd
ay, Feb. 13 and covers changes to the NSPS on the "
compliance date for the Step 2 emission limits, Step 2 emission limits for forced-air furnaces, hydronic heaters and wood heaters, Step 2 emission limits based on weighted averages versus individual burn rates, transitioning to cord wood certification test methods, compliance audit testing" and other issues. AGH strongly opposes sell-throughs and changes to emission compliance dates.
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The Biomass Thermal Energy Council (BTEC) applauds passage of the 2018 Farm Bill which increases authorized funding to $25 million for fiscal years 2019 through 2023 for the Community Wood Energy and Wood Innovations Program (CWEIP).
The $300 tax credit for wood and pellet heaters was not renewed in 2018, so it remains lapsed. AGH, HPBA and other groups are trying to bring it back for certain stoves purchased in 2019 and all groups finally agree that to be eligible, the IRS should only use the efficiency ratings on the list of EPA certified stoves. AGH supports a tax credit on stoves on the EPA list with efficiencies of 73% or higher.
Congress appropriated $5 million to support the development and testing of domestic low-emission, high-efficiency wood heaters. A funding opportunity announcement is being developed by the DOE to distribute those funds. Stay tuned.
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AGH Activities & Projects
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Two states dropped their stove rebates recently - Oregon and Maine. Vermont is only state in recent years to add a stove rebate. Vermont only includes pellet stoves, a shift likely to be seen in other states.
Will the $650 EPA certified wood stove be a thing of the past? The buyers of the cheapest stoves are likely to be those without health insurance and can least afford the short and long term impacts of increased wood smoke. That is one reason we support tougher emission regulations.
We want to welcome Elliot Levine to the Board of Directors of the Alliance for Green Heat! Elliot used to work for the Department of Energy's bioenergy office and served as a judge at the Wood Stove Design Challenge. He is also an expert on technology innovation in the cook stove sector.
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State & International News
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States
New Hampshire:
Dartmouth College is building a $200 million biomass heating facility to reduce carbon emissions and transition to renewable energy sources by the year 2025. The College’s wants a zero-combustion future, but other options aren't affordable yet. The biomass plant is designed to serve a 30-year window, after which as solar, wind, or geothermal energy may have developed enough.
North Carolina:
North Carolina is supporting fourteen broiler houses to be retrofitted with two pellet fired furnaces each on seven farms and increase the data collection accuracy of the overall project.
Utah:
As a kid, it was my job to split the wood my Dad and uncle felled. The inexpensive wood for heat was a blessing that kept us warm when Dad’s business failed. But times have changed and we have far too much wood smoke. That’s why I’ve left the old ax hanging in the shed. During this inversion season, I’m going to warm my feet by the gentle glow of my natural gas fireplace.
Vermont:
One of the more enthusiastic proponents of wood heat is Emma Hanson, the wood energy coordinator at the Vermont Department of Forests, Parks and Recreation. She explains how wood heat keeps money in the Vermont economy, and more.
Vermont:
Fill up your coffee mug and sit back for this long radio spot - or you can read it. Many of our friends and colleagues on both sides of the debate were interviewed.
International
China/US:
Good, fair journalism about trade-offs of wood and coal stoves, from China to the US. "In America, after the 1973 Arab oil embargo, more than a million homeowners a year bought airtight wood-burning stoves. ... These stoves would blanket our village of 350 people with a thin layer of haze on windless days."
United Kingdom:
In the UK, stove industry leaders have accepted that the cheapest models will go off the market as emission rules tighten. "Some of the cheaper stoves will drop off the market," says Dennis Milligan, of the Stove Industry Alliance, the UK's HPBA. He expects the cheapest stoves will now be up around US$1,000.
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In Scandinavia, it is common wisdom that you can tell a lot about a person from his woodpile. For example, an upright and solid pile: Upright and solid man. Low pile: cautious man, could be shy or weak. Tall pile: Big ambitions, but watch out for sagging and collapse. Flamboyant pile, widely visible: Extroverted, but possibly a bluffer. No woodpile: no husband.
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Portland, Oregon, February 11-12, 2019
Join industry leaders along with fellow weatherization professionals, home performance contracting businesses, program administrators, and others working in the residential energy efficiency industry.
Wels, Austria, February 27-28, 2019
The 2 conferences present the work and achievements of young researchers (born after 1983) in the fields of biomass and energy efficiency. They offer an opportunity to interact with researchers and industry experts from all over the world.
Wels, Austria & Nurnberg, Germany, February 24 - March 6, 2019
EBF19 participants will work together, discovering why Austria made progress in advanced heating systems, and which of the best methods and equipment might be adapted to conditions here.
Dallas, Texas, March 13 - March 16, 2019
HPBExpo 2019 is in Dallas this year.
Savannah, Georgia, March 18 - March 21, 2019
The 12th annual International Biomass Conference & Expo will take place at the Savannah International Trade & Convention Center.
Baltimore, Maryland, March 20 - March 23, 2019
The Climate Leadership Conference is dedicated to professionals addressing global climate change through policy, innovation, and business solutions.
Epsom, New Hampshire, June 12 - June 13, 2019
The NFW is a two day event that focuses on the business side of the split firewood industry with the goal of assisting the firewood industry with ideas to grow sales, profitability and business success.
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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.
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