MAY 2022 | A NOTE FROM JOHN ACKERLY
Biomass News
Dear Heating the Midwest Community,
This introductory message to each newsletter rotates among Steering Committee members and this is my first in doing the round-up. One thing I love about being on the Steering Committee is learning the granular details about what is happening at the companies producing and using biomass in Midwestern states. Companies are being buffeted by labor shortages, rising costs, supply chain breakdowns, and energy disruptions from halfway around the world in Ukraine.
Amidst all of this, many member companies are still doing fairly well, in no small part because electricity and fossil heating fuel prices are rising much faster than biomass, keeping our industry competitive and in demand. But each company is having to stay nimble and creative and it’s great to hear members giving tips and advice to each other, helping each other stay ahead of whatever curveball is coming at them that week. Camaraderie always helps!
HTM is about boosting affordable, domestic, renewable energy which seems to be in more demand with each passing month. One vital part of the puzzle is taking advantage of government grant opportunities and this newsletter always lists what’s available. The government incentive I deal with most is not for companies but for homeowners – the 26% tax credit on residential wood and pellet heaters. This year more than any other, demand for wood and pellet stoves and boilers is high and installers are busy, so if you are in the market, buy ASAP because many stoves have a 2-3 month wait time. Same with firewood and pellets. Whenever you used to buy them, do it a month or two earlier, and order extra if you can.
Some days it seems hard to tell, but the HTM Steering Committee is seeing a resurgence in biomass that will likely continue well through next year and probably years after that. There will be plenty of curveballs and unforeseen challenges in between but the camaraderie at HTM is steady.
HTM is also exploring conference options for 2022. Stay tuned…
|
|
AUTHOR:
John Ackerly
Alliance for Green Heat
HTM Steering Committee
|
|
UPCOMING EVENTS
- June 15-16, 2022 - National Firewood Workshop
- June 21-24, 2022 - 2022 PFI Annual Conference
-
July 20-21, 2022 - Lake States Lumber Association summer golf outing
-
September 8-10, 2022 - Great Lakes Timber Professionals Association / Logging Congress
- September 21-23, 2022 - NLHA Annual Convention
MAY RESOURCE SPOTLIGHT
- USDA Rural Development, Rural Energy Pilot Program Grant is open
- USDA Climate Smart Commodities
- Landscape Scale Restoration Grant
- Community Wood and Wood Innovations Grant Programs
- USDA – Rural Energy for America Program RE Systems and Energy Efficiency Improvement Guaranteed Loans and Grants
LOCAL BIOMASS
- Biomass For Sale
- Biomass Wanted
IN THE NEWS...
- How to Profitably Create Carbon-Negative Energy from Biomass
- How High Inflation Might Impact the Industrial Wood Pellet Industry
- The Residential Wood Heater Tax Credit
- Corn Stoves
- The Case for Modern Wood Heating
- Options for Wood Stoves and Heat Pumps
- U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) Monthly Densified Biomass Fuel Report
|
|
HTM STEERING COMMITTEE
-
Jeremy Mortl* - President
-
T.J. Morice* - Secretary/Treasurer
-
Stacy Cook*
- John Ackerly - National Rep
- Bruno Zagar
- David Neumann
- Joseph Donnell
- Becky Philipp
- Tim Portz - National Rep
- Ben Rose
- Adam Sherman - National Rep
- Emanuel Wagner - National Rep
* Executive Members
|
|
BROUGHT TO YOU BY HEATING THE MIDWEST
|
|
UPCOMING EVENTS
June 15-16, 2022
June 21-24, 2022
July 20-21, 2022
-
Lake States Lumber Association summer golf outing, Spring Green, WI.
September 8-10, 2022
-
Great Lakes Timber Professionals Association / Logging Congress, Green Bay, WI.
September 21-23, 2022
|
|
USDA Rural Development, Rural Energy Pilot Program Grant is open
Completed Applications: On or Before July 18, 2022
The Rural Energy Pilot Program (REPP) grant offers financial assistance for rural communities to further develop renewable energy.
Who may apply?
Eligible applicants to this program are Rural Energy Community Partnerships as defined in the REPP Notice of Funding Opportunity, Federal Register Notice.
REPP partnerships may be comprised of, but are not limited to:
- Non-profit entities;
- State and local entities;
- Tribal entities;
- Municipalities and other public bodies.
How may funds be used?
REPP grant funds can be used to support:
- Community energy planning, capacity building, and technical assistance
- Community efficiency and weatherization
- Installation and equipping of community-scale renewable energy technologies and systems
|
|
USDA Climate Smart Commodities
June 10, 2022 for the second funding pool (proposals from $250,000 to $4,999,999)
Up to approximately $1 billion will be made available for the Partnerships for Climate-Smart Commodities projects through this funding opportunity, which will build markets and invest in America’s climate-smart farmers, ranchers, and forest owners to strengthen U.S. rural and agricultural communities. Through the Partnerships for Climate-Smart Commodities, USDA will support the production and marketing of climate-smart commodities through a set of pilot projects that provide voluntary incentives through partners to producers and land owners, including early adopters, to:
a. implement climate-smart production practices, activities, and systems on working lands,
b. measure/quantify, monitor and verify the carbon and greenhouse gas (GHG) benefits associated with those practices, and
c. develop markets and promote the resulting climate-smart commodities.
Grant agreements under this funding opportunity will be with a single entity, i.e., “partner”; however, USDA encourages multiple partners to coordinate on projects. A range of public and private entities are eligible to apply, as described in Section C of the Full Announcement which can be found in the Related Documents tab of this opportunity.
|
|
USDA reports strong interest for Climate-Smart Commodities funds
The USDA on May 10 announced it received more than 450 proposals for large-scale projects under its new Partnerships for Climate-Smart Commodities program. The agency is accepting proposals for smaller-scale projects through June 10.
|
|
Landscape Scale Restoration Grant
Coming Out Soon!
|
|
Community Wood and Wood Innovations Grant Programs
The USDA Forest Service is planning to begin accepting applications to the Wood Innovations and Community Wood Grants Programs in October 2022.
|
|
USDA – Rural Energy for America Program RE Systems and Energy Efficiency Improvement Guaranteed Loans and Grants
Applications due 10/31/22 (set-aside) and March 31, 2023.
The program provides guaranteed loan financing and grant funding to agricultural producers and rural small businesses for renewable energy systems or to make energy efficiency improvements. Agricultural producers may also apply for new energy efficient equipment and new system loans for agricultural production and processing.
|
|
How to Profitably Create Carbon-Negative Energy from Biomass
Combining complementary technologies can enable a profitable transition to a low-carbon economy.
|
|
How High Inflation Might Impact the Industrial Wood Pellet Industry
Using data, analysis, and advanced simulation techniques, FutureMetrics provides unique insights into how the costs of producing and delivering industrial wood pellets may be affected by high inflation.
|
|
The Residential Wood Heater Tax Credit
The IRS has updated its draft forms and instructions for the Residential Energy Credits on form 5695 for the 2021 tax season. Eligible taxpayers will be able to claim the new Section 25(D) tax credit for qualifying biomass stoves on line 5 of tax form 5695. Unlike on previous iterations of this tax form, biomass is specifically mentioned on the form and on its own line. The credit may be claimed in the year in which a qualifying product is installed.
|
|
Corn Stoves
Corn stoves gained a lot of popularity up until about 2012, when corn prices rose due to US policy that heavily subsidizes ethanol. Mike Tidwell, a climate change activist in Takoma Park Maryland, where the Alliance for Green Heat is based, started a corn heating coop in 2008 as a way to wean homes off of gas and oil.
|
|
The Case for Modern Wood Heating
Within the growing clean energy community, advocates agree that transitioning away from fossil fuels must be a top priority in the fight against climate change. Similarly, energy efficiency has to be aggressively pursued in tandem with clean energy generation.
|
|
Options for Wood Stoves and Heat Pumps
With all of the talk of gas boiler bans, higher energy bills and more, many people are now looking for alternative ways to heat their homes. An emerging trend involves using both a heat pump and a wood burner to keep your home warm. But how does this work? What does it involve? Can you use a heat pump in combination with a stove?
|
|
U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) Monthly Densified Biomass Fuel Report
The U.S. Energy Information Administration recently released data showing U.S. manufacturers' production and sales of densified biomass fuel in January and February.
|
|
MORE WAYS TO GET BIOMASS NEWS |
|
BiomassMagazine.com
- Printed Magazine
- Free digital Magazine
- Free e-Newsletters
- Free Webinars
|
|
Pellet Mill Magazine Free to U.S. Subscribers.
- Printed Magazine
- Free digital Magazine
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
