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Volume 115

Green Heat News
March 2019
Focus on NSPS
The 200 plus comments filed with the EPA reveal a unified and energized bloc of states, air agencies and non-profits opposing changes to the 2015 regulations. A slate of positions developed by NESCAUM and other agencies proposed for the 2023 NSPS is now formally in play.

We read and excerpted key parts of the hundreds of pages of comments, for those who don't want to wade through it all. These are summary positions from HPBA, HHT, Blaze King, Jotul, NESCAUM, NACAA, CARB, Western Governors Association (photo top right) and more than a dozen states.
 
EPA, HPBA, PFI and other litigants have agreed to temporarily halt litigation over the 2015 wood heater regulations while the EPA explores revisions to the regulations. The EPA already issued one proposed rule change and intends to issue another and take action on the second one by late 2020.
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Focus on Congress
Nuclear energy and biomass are two low-carbon energy sources whose fate is uncertain in the still evolving Green New Deal. Small scale, modern pellet and woodchip heating is a natural fit with almost all of the the democractic supporters.

Democratic members of the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works are urging the U.S. EPA to reopen and extend comment periods for all pending regulatory decisions impacted by the partial government shutdown, including its wood heater rule.


AGH Activities & Projects
The most recent EPA certified stove list had 17 new 2020 compliant units. And the non-cat were the cleanest of all. The United States has some of the best stove engineers in the world and they are rising to the challenge.

AGH believes R&D and innovation is vital for the future of the hearth industry. Without regulations requiring better performing stoves and boilers, industry has little incentive to innovate. EPA regulations saved the industry from itself in 1988 and the 2015 regulations will ultimately do the same.


Biomass Heat and the
Renewable Energy Future
A fantastic road-map for how a town can achieve 100% renewable heat and electricity. Heating mainly relies on high efficiency het pumps, but also on modern biomass heating in homes and buildings.

Heat pumps are becoming the favored technology of our electrified future. But we think pellet stoves are the perfect compliment to heat pumps, either as a primary or secondary source of heat. Here is why.



Focus on Air Quality
"We have a heck of a lot of fuel out there to burn." She emphasized the benefits of using portable air filters or a ventilation system, to keep inside air smoke-free.
 
"The ventilation index is a measure of the atmosphere’s ability to disperse pollution. A ventilation index of 0 implies no ability of the atmosphere to disperse pollutants (smoke) while a value of 100 implies an excellent ability to disperse pollutants. When the ventilation index for a given area has a rating of 54 or below (fair or poor), it is illegal to open burn, and the use of a wood stove should be avoided if possible."


Resources
NYSERDA has released a 240 page  Design Assistance Manual for High-Efficiency, Low-Emissions Biomass Boiler Systems . It’s freely available as a downloadable PDF at



State & International News
States

California: While the Camp Fire smoke exposure was out of our control, residential burning in a woodstove or fireplace is controllable. Imagine breathing smoke nightly in your neighborhood due to a neighbor who burns wood in their fireplace or wood stove.

Kansas: Poor planning and distribution has left communities in Kansas and elsewhere frustrated as they search for more wood pellets. Many families can't afford to buy in bulk early in the season and can be left stranded.

Massachusetts: Massachusssets is giving $2.9 million to boost in-state production of wood chips and the growth of efficient wood-burning furnaces and boilers. Caluwe Inc. in Burlington,MA will test and certify European wood chip boilers for their compliance with U.S. air pollution laws.

Maine: Don’t get me wrong. I love my heat pump, but in the dead of winter in Maine, it just doesn’t seem to cut it. That's why Laura Reed bought a pellet stove. "I'm loving it" ... too.

New Hampshire: New Hampshire has been trying for years to make people get rid of wood stoves that contribute a disproportionate amount to air pollution, but a bill that would have forced the issue, requiring pre-1986 stoves to be destroyed when the house is sold, seems to have gone too far.
 
Tennessee: The Greene County Firewood Ministry is run by Christ United Methodist Church. The first year, they delivered 75 loads of wood. Last year they delivered more than 1,300 loads and they estimate this year more than 1,700 loads will be delivered.

Utah: HB357 would cover 70 percent of residents’ cost to replace their wood-burning device or fireplace with a heating appliance powered by natural gas, propane or electricity.

Washington: Washington State is considering a bill that requires you to update your old stove to a new one when you do a major remodel. Some cities may have done this, and Oregon requires it when selling a home.


International

Europe: 21.7 million metric tons of wood pellets were consumed in the European Union in 2016. The majority of this went to heat production, nearly 62 percent. The remaining 38 percent was used for power production. Almost 70 percent of the pellets consumed for heat in Europe was in residential applications.

United Kingdom: A stove manufacturer claims to have created of the world's least polluting wood stove. Hunter Stoves and the University of Exeter have worked for 2 years on a secret prototype which they say is a major step ahead of anything that is out in the market place today' and it plans to have it on sale by the autumn.






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Best of January Facebook
More than 50 uses for wood ashes!

A video that shows how a masonry heater works.



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Conferences & Webinars

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.

Jamestown, New York, April 25, 2019
The event will be held at Jamestown Community College.

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 to assist companies with ideas to grow sales, profitability and business success.

Washington, DC, July 11, 2019
The event will bring together 30-40 businesses, trade associations, and government agencies to showcase renewable energy and energy efficiency technologies.

Burlington, Vermont, October 10-11, 2019
Organized by the nonprofit trade association, Renewable Energy Vermont, this annual forum brings together business leaders, system operators, architects, builders, manufacturers, engineers, scientists, policy makers, and regulators.
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Please support our work!
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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Alliance for Green Heat | (301) 204 9562 | contact@forgreenheat.org | | www.forgreenheat.org