Green Heat News
A monthly news service for everyone
interested in renewable wood & pellet heating
July 2020
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Featured stories
A virtual EPA hearing on June 8 pitted states against the EPA over emission limits from wood stoves, boilers and furnaces. The EPA is proposing to ease the emissions compliance timeline for wood stoves and boilers but over a dozen states urged the EPA to withdraw its proposal. Minnesota formally told the EPA and the wood heating industry that stoves and boilers must comply with the existing timeline
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In oral testimony, AGH called for a partial, limited sell-through, but not one that will result in more Step 1 units coming from manufacturers into the retail market. That would backfire.
There is a way to do this proposed sell-through in a smarter, more targeted way. And there is a way to do it that will add too much wood smoke into communities and neighborhoods.
A company recently sent out a mass email titled "Outdoor Wood Boiler Lives Matter" belittling the very real issues facing the Black community today. This is no time to mock the undeniable statistics showing that on average, Black people are more likely to die in encounters with police.
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Focus on EPA
Anyone can comment on the EPA’s proposed sell through of Step 1 heaters. Comments must be submitted by July 6. A virtual public hearing is likely on July 8,
from 9:00 a.m. (EST) and will conclude at 3:00 p.m. EST. EPA will begin pre-registering speakers for the hearing upon publication of this document in the Federal Register. Each speaker will get 5 minutes.
"California regulators, taking a harder line than their counterparts at EPA, are bluntly warning wood stove retailers against continuing to sell models that don't meet stricter federal emissions standards. California Attorney General Xavier Becerra's office said in letters sent yesterday to almost 20 big box and home improvement stores as well as internet retailers.
AGH supports this program to donate Step 1 stoves in part because it involves removing far dirtier stoves first. Claiming these stove "donations could force more pollution on already vulnerable populations" is not backed up by the reporter. Institutional poverty and racism are important and often overlooked issues in the wood heating sector, but this projects helps alleviate it, not make it worse.
"Jackson said the EPA’s proposal will not only create a patchwork of regulations, but also leave the state with no choice but to reach out to vendors nationwide to let them know that its state laws still stand notwithstanding EPA’s action."
The proposed sell-through is actively being opposed by some manufacturers, and some large ones like HHT are indifferent. That is one reason why the outdoor boiler manufacturers were the face of the campaign, which did not help the PR efforts. As a longer term extension and sell-through fell apart, the biggest volume stove manufacturers – dropped their membership in HPBA.
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Focus on Congress
H.R. 2, the Moving Forward Act
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a sweeping infrastructure act, also includes some energy provisions such as a delayed phasedown of the renewable energy investment tax credit (ITC) until 2026. It includes the residential portions of the BTU Act, long sought by BTEC and more recently by a coalition of mostly New England groups, along with AGH. The BTU Act would give a 30% tax credit for heaters listed on the EPA database as 75% efficient or higher, ending a decade old practice where stove manufacturers fraudulently claimed eligibility in tax schemes. At 75%, the BTU Act would mostly cover pellet stoves and boilers, along with catalytic and hybrid stoves. While passage of the bill is likely in the House, Republicans promise to block it in the Senate,
setting the stage
for other pathways.
AGH is proud to join nearly 800 companies in sending a letter to Congress urging a stronger homeowner energy efficiency tax incentive to address unprecedented COVID19 job losses. This includes an increased tax credit for wood heaters, from the existing $300 to $400, extended through the end of 2025. A push to increase the tax credit even higher did not make it into the Moving Forward Act.
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The clean air community lost a vibrant educator and campaigner with the passing of Kirk Smith, who suffered a sudden stroke and cardiac arrest. He was a friend and mentor to many, tirelessly sharing his enthusiasm for solutions to the widespread public health crisis created by wood smoke from cook stoves in tens of millions of homes in the developing world. He served on the Steering Committee of the first Wood Stove Design Challenge and remained an important contact and resource for AGH. We will miss him.
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A peer reviewed study on automated stove performance: "The field tests showed signif icantly reduced emissions and high efficiency for the automatically controlled stoves compared to manually controlled stoves."
This new technology has a great potential for reducing the emissions of pollutants at low altitude close to private homes.
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State & International News
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States
Alaska:
"They are hoping to have the kiln-dried firewood available at a similar price to green firewood that is for sale. He says each cycle in the kiln will dry 48 cords of firewood and take about two full days."
Click here
for more reporting on this important development.
Alaska (Native American lands):
HIA has been awarded a USDA Forest Service Wood Innovations grant to design a biomass district heating loop system to increase energy independence in the small Alaska town.
Vermont:
The 2020 rebates for change-outs in VT stalled due to Covid-19 but they’re safely going back in homes now. Paskevich said that if the company selling and installing the stove has the capacity, the turnaround time can be short. She said some installations have happened within weeks.
Australia
Despite the headline, this is a well-reported article with important policy discussions. Points we found interesting:
- 10% of Australian households use wood as their main source of heating
- 40,000-50,000 wood stoves are sold in Australia each year.
- A study in 5 homes found PM levels 15 times higher than the predicted average from lab testing.
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Just saying
. Don’t be an idiot like this woman. Please avoid burning treated wood, painted wood, trash, etc.
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Washington, DC, June 29-July 1, 2020
Join us for the largest gathering of energy assistance professionals in the country.
Online event, July 7, 2020, 3 pm EDT
Froling Energy began installing Dry Wood Chip Boiler Systems and producing PDCs in 2013. Learn all about this new renewable fuel option.
Washington DC,
Postponed
Competing teams exhibit and compete at the Build Challenge Event, as part of the Smithsonian Folklife Festival in Washington.
Scranton, PA, August 31-September 1, 2020
Visit the webpage to see photos from previous conferences.
Vancouver, Canada, September 21, 2020
OptiPellet is the only event of its kind focused on current and future state-of-the-art pellet production technology.
South Burlington, Vermont, October 13-14, 2020
Renewable Energy Vermont’s annual conference convenes innovators and policymakers working to advance renewable energy, electricity, heating, and transportation solutions.
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Top 10 Stove Lists: Run the other way
When you see advertisements for "Top 10 Stoves" or similar reviews, they are invariably advertorials or downright scams. Run the other way. Many of them are paid advertisements, masquerading as third party “reviews.” Some provide a kick-back to the outfit who put them together if you click on a link leading to a sale. The same stoves turn up again and again when you click on ads like these, and they invariably lead you to some of the cheapest stoves that sell via the internet, not through reputable dealers who stand behind their products. The brands that most often turn up in these mock reviews are Comfortbuilt, Pleasant Hearth, Vogelzang and US Stove. We dug down into some of the companies that assembled these reviews. One said that manufacturers “can apply to license our award logo, company logo, or editorial text to use in your marketing, advertising, press, or advertorial.” Another said, “We are always looking for new retail partners across the consumer product categories we review. If you are a retailer who is interested in an affiliate relationship with us, contact us.” Ads like these are why we like to repeat the phrase,
buyer beware
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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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