Greetings,
As we wrap up 2019 and move into the New Year, please keep in mind wood energy assistance available from the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources for Wisconsin’s facilities.
The WI DNR Forest Products Services program is a member of the Wisconsin Statewide Wood Energy Team
(SWET)
and currently coordinates the team’s efforts across Wisconsin. SWET is a public-private partnership that aims to expand markets for converting woody biomass into energy while advancing installation of commercially viable wood energy systems in both public and private facilities. These efforts support forest restoration, wildfire mitigation, urban wood utilization, and other sustainable forest management goals.
SWET was originally established in 2015 by a USDA Forest Service grant. During the grant period, the team completed seven wood energy analysis projects in Wisconsin for a wide range of entities such as wood industries, hospitals, cheese factories, and schools. Facilities sought out this free assistance to better utilize locally available wood residues while understanding potential cost savings of wood energy. For facilities that requested assistance, the Forest Products Services program initiated the analysis by collecting essential information such as facility energy needs, utility costs, woody biomass availability, and any potential future energy demands. The cost/benefit analysis was then conducted in cooperation with an engineering firm contracted by USDA Forest Service. SWET provided free reports to these participating facilities.
With the continuation of wood energy efforts across Wisconsin, your facility can take advantage of this free assistance from the State Wood Energy Team. If you are interested in a free wood energy analysis, please contact Sabina Dhungana via email
sabina.dhungana@wisconsin.gov
or call her at 608-220-4531
|
|
- Midwest Biomass Exchange Sponsorships Available
- Up to $15 Million Available to Deploy Energy Infrastructure on Tribal Lands
- How to Claim $300 Stove Tax Credit
- USDA Seeks Applications for Advanced Biofuel Payment Program
- BTEC: Support for Woody Biomass Included in Spending, Tax Deals
- New Tax Credit Could Tip Balance Toward Modern, Efficient Pellet Heaters
- International Biomass Conference
- Industry Publications
- National Funding Opportunities
- Minnesota Funding Opportunities
- Social Media
- Free Publications
- Become an Action Team Volunteer
- Call for news
|
|
Midwest Biomass Exchange Sponsorships Available
|
|
Opportunities to sponsor the Midwest Biomass Exchange (MBioEX) site are now available! Sponsor the site and advertise your company all at the same time! HTM is offering space on the MBioEX website for sponsors to place one-year ads or a sponsorship endorsement in exchange for financial support to offset costs for maintenance and future enhancements to the MBioEx website. One-year sponsorship endorsements and/or ad space are available for $500 per year. The site currently contains six ads panes available on a first-come, first-serve basis. Individuals and companies seeking outlets for selling agricultural residues have access to this FREE web-based resource at their fingertips. The MBIOEX website (
www.mbioex.com
) is a user-friendly internet marketplace designed to connect buyers and sellers of woody and agricultural biomass. The site focuses more closely on biomass for fuel, and on serving the Midwestern area in the U.S. and Canada.
Details are available at
http://www.mbioex.com/
or by contacting Dave Neumann at neumannd@michigan.gov
.
MBioEX was created and supported by the USDA Forest Service Forest Products Marketing Unit, and partners including Heating the Midwest, the Michigan Department of Natural Resources, the Agricultural Utilization Research Institute, the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, and the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources.
|
|
Up to $15 Million Available to Deploy Energy Infrastructure on Tribal Lands
|
|
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has announced up to $15 million in new funding to deploy energy infrastructure on tribal lands. This funding through the Office of Indian Energy will support Indian Tribes, including Alaska Native Regional Corporations and Village Corporations, Intertribal Organizations, and Tribal Energy Development Organizations, interested in developing their vast energy resources.
The Office of Indian Energy is soliciting applications from Indian Tribes, which include Alaska Native Regional Corporations and Village Corporations, Intertribal Organizations, and Tribal Energy Development Organizations, to:
1. Install energy generating system(s) and/or energy efficiency measure(s) for Tribal Building(s) (Topic Area 1)
2. Deploy community-scale energy generating system(s) or energy storage on Tribal Lands (Topic Area 2)
3. Install energy system(s) for autonomous operation (independent of the traditional centralized electric power grid) to power a single or multiple essential tribal facilities during emergency situations or for tribal community resilience (Topic Area 3)
4. Deploy energy infrastructure and integrated energy system(s) to electrify Tribal Building(s) (Topic Area 4).
An informational webinar was held Dec. 10, 2019, to provide more information on the FOA, including who is eligible to apply, what an application needs to include, cost share and other requirements, how to ask questions, and how applications will be selected for funding.
View the presentation slides and video
.
|
|
How to Claim the $300 Stove Tax Credit
|
|
January 2020 - At the end of 2019, Congress included a $300 tax credit in a spending bill that was signed by President Trump, covering energy efficiency measures including wood and pellet appliances. To be eligible stoves or boilers need to be 75% efficiency or greater and be purchased in 2018, 2019 or 2020.
To claim the credit, complete IRS
Form 5695
when you file your taxes. Wood and pellet heaters are covered under Nonbusiness Energy Property Credit. Instructions for Form 5695, with other important qualifications,
are here
. (Form 5695 and its instructions have not been updated since the $300 tax credit became law again at the end of 2019 but it should be soon.) Online service such as Turbotax and Intuit should have Form 5695 integrated into their software.
Taxpayers do not have submit receipts with their taxes but need to maintain receipts in their files along with a certification of eligibility from the manufacturer. The
EPA database
provides verification of whether a stove is 75% efficient and is the most reliable place for consumers to determine efficiency numbers. If the EPA database provides an efficiency of less than 75% for a particular stove, it may not be eligible for the tax credit.
Read the full article
here
.
|
|
USDA Seeks Applications for Advanced Biofuel Payment Program
|
|
The USDA’s Rural Business Cooperative Service published a notice on Dec. 18 seeking applications from biofuel producers under the Bioenergy Program for Advanced Biofuels, which provides quarterly payments to producers of qualified advanced biofuels.
The program aims to support and ensure an expanding production of advanced biofuels. Eligible advanced biofuels must be produced in the U.S. from renewable biomass, excluding corn kernel starch.
In the notice, the USDA announces the availability of up to $7 million for each for fiscal years 2019 and 2020 to make payments to eligible advanced biofuel producers for the production of eligible advanced biofuels.
Applications must be submitted to the USDA Rural Development State Officer for the state where the producer is located and be received by 4:30 local time on Feb. 18, 2020.
Additional information is available on the Federal Register
website
.
|
|
BTEC: Support for Woody Biomass Included in Spending, Tax Deals
|
|
In the final week of the 2019 legislative session, Congress passed a $5 million allotment for the new Community Wood Energy and Innovations Program in the massive $1.4 trillion spending deal, extended the Section 25C Wood and Pellet Stove Credit, and reauthorized the carbon neutrality of biomass policy. The Biomass Thermal Energy Council applauds Congress and President Trump for recognizing the role of woody biomass throughout the country to create economic opportunities, provide an affordable renewable heating fuel, and support a sustainable environment.
Read the full article
here
.
|
|
New Tax Credit Could Tip Balance Toward Modern, Efficient Pellet Heaters
|
|
A 75% efficiency threshold would help innovative stove and boiler manufacturers, set others back
Members of Congress unveiled a discussion draft for a wide range of energy tax credits from solar PV, geothermal and electric cars – to high efficiency wood and pellet heaters. The tax breaks are part of the Growing Renewable Energy and Efficiency Now (GREEN) Act. The core tax breaks are in three areas -
renewable energy production and storage
, energy efficiency, and electric vehicles. Most of these provisions renew and or modify existing tax breaks and a few are new incentives meant to spur energy innovation.
|
|
International Biomass Conference
|
|
World's Largest Biomass Event Begins Next Week
All Things Biomass
Biomass Power & Heat, Pellets, Biogas, RNG, Advanced Biofuels, Waste-to-Energy
February 3-5, 2020 in Nashville, TN
|
|
New Publication
Poultry-Barn-Heating-with-Wood-Energy
Recent Publications:
Other publications:
|
|
National Funding Opportunities
|
|
DOE: No-cost technical assistance.
The DOE Office of Indian Energy provides federally recognized Indian tribes with technical assistance to advance tribal energy projects at no cost.
|
|
Minnesota Funding Opportunities
|
|
HTM has joined LinkedIn, Facebook & Twitter
|
Heating the Midwest Incorporated has created a LinkedIn page and also a Facebook page. Follow the page to stay up to date with what we're working on! Also follow us on Twitter.
Click
here
to follow us on LinkedIn
Click
here
to follow us on Facebook.
Follow us on Twitter @HTM_BiomassHeat
|
|
Biomass Magazine and Pellet Mill Magazine
are free to subscribers in the USA. Here's the link to sign up for the magazine and free e-newsletters, free webinars and more:
BTEC Newsletter
: If you are interested in receiving the Biomass Thermal Energy Council's weekly biomass newsletter and other news releases, you are encouraged to sign-up at:
http://biomassthermal.org/mailingForm.asp
|
|
Heating the Midwest- Become an Action Team Volunteer!
|
|
If you have a specific area of interest related to biomass thermal, we welcome your participation in one or all of HTM’s three action teams-Biomass Combustion Technologies, Biomass Policy & Benefits, and Biomass Resources & Demographics. Is your time often stretched? No problem. Time committed to the HTM effort is volunteer time. Joint action team calls are held monthly via conference call, and calls are limited to one hour in respect of members’ time and busy schedules. Members may choose to volunteer more of their time individually to support Action Team specific projects as they arise.
Individuals with a passion for biomass thermal energy are being sought to lead the Biomass Resources & Demographics Action Team or the Biomass Combustion Technologies Action Team. This is a great opportunity to share your leadership skills in furthering the mission of HTM and to directly connect with the biomass industry sector and other agencies—all with a goal of growing market opportunities for biomass and specifically for biomass as a fuel for thermal heating and cooling, and combined heat and power.
The work of the action teams involves developing “boots on the ground” projects for spurring action, discussing industry challenges in each sector and how to possibly address, networking and supporting the overall goals and vision of the Heating the Midwest with Renewable Biomass initiative in an effort to grow demand and expand marketing opportunities in the biomass thermal sector, and create awareness of biomass thermal.
HTM Joint Action Team calls are held the >>
Third Tuesday of each month at 1:30 p.m. CST
<<. Separate action team calls are scheduled as needed.
For more detailed information, feel free to contact Becky Philipp (
bphilipp@auri.org
), steering committee member.
|
|
Call for Your Midwest Biomass Stories and Events for February Newsletter
|
|
As you've seen month after month; companies, governments, and communities around the Midwest are making progress on biomass heating and combined heat and power (CHP) programs and projects. If you have a story or event to contribute for next month, please submit by close of business the 3rd Wednesday of the month to
kloeffler@heatingthemidwest.org
. And, if you'd like to be on the list to receive upcoming newsletters, please contact Kelsey Loeffler at
kloeffler@heatingthemidwest.org
.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|