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With the development of renewable energy sources to meet the challenges of energy security and climate change, wood bioenergy and biofuels have the potential to become a much larger part of the nation\'s energy future. There is concern that efforts to expand the production and use of this energy source could have unintended environmental and economic consequences for forests in several regions of the US. However, there are policy options at the federal, state, and local levels, as well as opportunities, that can minimize the sustainability risks related to the development of a wood bioenergy industry. Over the past year, the Pinchot Institute for Conservation and the H. John Heinz III Center for Science, Economics and the Environment convened a national policy dialogue on ensuring forest sustainability in the development of wood bioenergy in the United States. This dialogue brought together a highly knowledgeable group of individuals and organizations representing the forest and Read More ... Reference: link to the full PDF whitepaper - left column of the Pinchot Institute bioenergy page | |
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FOR INFORMATION: Deb Callahan, President Heinz Center for Science, Economics and the Environment: 202-737-6307 Dr. Al Sample, President Pinchot Institute: 202 -797-6580 STUDY FINDS OPPORTUNITIES FOR POLICYMAKERS TO PROTECT NATION’S FORESTS WHILE MEETING RENEWABLE ENERGY NEEDS EMBARGOED UNTIL: June 22, 2010 WASHINGTON D.C. — Policy goals for renewable biofuels and bioenergy could be achieved, but U.S. policymakers must take steps to protect the sustainability of the nation’s forests in the face of these increased demands, according to a joint report released today by the Pinchot Institute for Conservation and the H. John Heinz III Center for Science, Economics and the Environment. Two major national priorities— achieving greater energy security through increased domestic energy production and mitigating climate change —have converged to create rapidly expanding demands on U.S. forests for wood-based bioenergy. To protect our forests, careful consideration a Read More ... | |
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Contact: Star Dodd, Director of Communications sdodd@pinchot.org, 202.797.6582 For Immediate Release MASSACHUSETTS RELEASES STUDY OF ENVIRONMENTAL EFFECTS OF WOOD BIOMASS ELECTRICITY PROPOSALS Washington DC, June 11, 2010 – “Bioenergy technologies, even biomass electric power compared to natural gas electric, look favorable when biomass waste-wood is compared to fossil fuel alternatives.” Thus concludes a study released this week by the Manomet Center for Conservation Sciences, and by the Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources, which funded the study. The Pinchot Institute was among several organizations participating in the study. The six-month study, entitled “Biomass Sustainability and Carbon Policy Study,” addresses a wide array of social, scientific, economic and technical issues related to the use of forest biomass for generating energy in Massachusetts. Key components of the study include a full analysis of existing domestic and international biomass policies Read More ... | |
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Using pellets to heat Charleston facility. CHARLESTON, Maine (NEWS CENTER)--The Mountain View Youth Development Center in Charleston is getting a brand new heating system and it\'s not costing taxpayers a dime. The State Department of Corrections and International WoodFuels of Portland worked together on this project. Charleston gets two free pellet boilers and a silo for the pellets along with all the work to install it. In return, the state agreed to buy the Maine made pellets from the company for the next 10 years. It\'s estimated the deal will cut the state\'s oil bill by about $68 thousand dollars a year. The slabs for the pellet silo and the building that will house the boilers are already in place. The plan is to connect the new boilers with the existing oil boilers in the next few months. The Corrections Department is also working with Unity College on using wind energy on the top of Charleston hill. Please view the video link. Reference: NBC WCSH6: Using pellets to heat Charleston facility | |
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Maine Public Broadcasting Network The new system will cut the state Corrections Department\'s fuel consumption by 20 percent, state officials estimate. A youth corrections facility in Charleston will soon be heated by wood pellets. State officials say the Mountain View Youth Development Center will be getting a state if the art metered wood pellet heating system that is fueled by locally made pellets. Gov. John Baldacci says it\'s one of the first such systems to be installed in a state correctional facility. He says the new system is expected to save the Charleston center 145,000 gallons of heating oil each year, reducing the state Corrections Department\'s heating fuel consumption by 20 percent. The system is being installed by International WoodFuels, based in Portland. It\'s expected to be operating later this year. | |
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Charleston Correctional Facility also looking at wind, solar power to become more self-sufficient By Diana Bowley BDN Staff CHARLESTON, Maine — For some time now, the Charleston Correctional Facility has been heating its campus with wood heat furnished through the efforts of employees and inmates. In the future, the Mountain View Youth Development Center will be among the first correctional facilities in the nation to heat with wood pellets. It doesn’t stop there. The state also is looking at wind and solar power to make the facilities, located next door to each other, as self-sufficient as possible by going green, Eric Hansen, superintendent of both facilities, said Thursday afternoon. Earlier in the day, Gov. John Baldacci and Department of Corrections Commissioner Martin Magnusson announced the DOC has partnered with International WoodFuels, a Portland-based thermal energy provider, to install a metered wood pellet boiler with storage silo at the youth development ce Read More ... Reference: View the Bangor Daily News story online | |
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Maine Juvenile Facility Adds Wood Pellet System Portland, Maine-based wood pellet system retailer International WoodFuels LLC will install a wood pellet heating system at the Maine Department of Corrections’ Mountain View Youth Development Center in Charleston, Maine. The system, one of the first to be installed in a correctional facility, will use locally sourced wood pellets, eliminating the need for 145,000 gallons of heating oil per year. WoodFuels will install, monitor and maintain the boiler and deliver pellets — made of waste wood and sawdust — as needed, charging per unit of energy used. The state negotiated the price per British thermal unit, or BTU, in a 10-year service contract with WoodFuels. “My administration has made it a top priority to find new and innovative ways to reduce the reliance that State-owned facilities have on foreign energy sources,” said Gov. John Baldacci in a statement. “The Department of Corrections has made great progress in meeting its commi Read More ... Reference: Read the Mass High Tech Journal online | |
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Boston.com – AP AUGUSTA, Maine – State officials say the Mountain View Youth Development Center in Charleston will be heated by wood pellets. Gov. John Baldacci said Thursday the Corrections Department has hired International WoodFuels, a Portland-based thermal energy provider, to install the metered wood pellet heating system at the center for juvenile offenders. Baldacci says Mountain View will be among the first corrections facilities in the nation to utilize metered heat from locally made wood pellets. The changeover will offset the use of about 145,000 gallons of heating oil annually, further reducing the department’s overall consumption of heating fuel by 20 percent. The juvenile center will begin using the pellet heating system later this year. Reference: Boston.com News Article | |
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GOVERNOR’S PRESS OFFICE Jan. 28, 2010 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: David Farmer, 287-2530; (cell) 557-5968 - Governor Baldacci\'s office Laura Sawall, (207) 699-4500 - International WoodFuels Maine Department of Corrections’ Facility “Going Greener” With New Biomass Thermal Heating System Mountain View Youth Development Center Will Be Among First In The Nation to Heat with Wood Pellets AUGUSTA, MAINE - Governor John E. Baldacci and State Department of Corrections (DOC) Commissioner Martin Magnusson announced today that that department has partnered with International WoodFuels (www.iwoodfuels.com), a Portland based thermal energy provider, to install a state-of-the-art metered wood pellet heating system at the Mountain View Youth Development Center in Charleston. The center will be among the first corrections facilities in the nation to utilize metered heat from locally sourced wood pellets. The State is estimating that the installation Read More ... | |
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SEEC recently submittted their proposals and recommendations to the House of Representatives. The attached PDF contains this letter. Mission/Purpose of the Sustainable Energy and Environment Coalition • Advance policies that promote clean energy technology innovation and domestic manufacturing, develop renewable energy resources, and create green collar jobs throughout the product supply-chain. • Advance polices to help arrest global warming and protect our nation’s clean air, water and natural environment. Reference: Sustainable Energy and Environment Coalition\'s Website | |
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Anna Maria College in Paxton plans to save some green this winter by switching over to a wood pellet central heating system for its campus, the Telegram & Gazette reports. According to the Telegram & Gazette, the college has joined with International WoodFuels of Portland, Maine, to install the Green Energy System, a metered pellet boiler. The switch will reduce the school’s annual carbon emissions by more than 900 tons. Reference: Boston Business Journal article | |
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PAXTON — Anna Maria College will save energy this winter by using a wood pellet central heating system for its campus. The college has joined with International WoodFuels of Portland, Maine, to install the Green Energy System, a metered pellet boiler. The new approach to heating will reduce the school’s annual carbon emissions by more than 900 tons, according to a news release. Anna Maria will be the first college in Massachusetts to provide heat for students exclusively with wood pellets. The school signed the American College & University President’s Climate Commitment in 2007, taking a pledge to reduce the production of greenhouse gases. Initiatives have also been taken to replace light bulbs with compact fluorescent lighting, to buy appliances approved by Energy Star and to install solar-powered scoreboards. Reference: Telegram.com Online Article | |
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Biomass Thermal Heating System Will Reduce College\'s Carbon Footprint and Fossil Fuel Consumption Paxton, MA (November 4, 2009) Continuing in its commitment to protect the environment and vying to become the first college in Massachusetts to provide heat for its students exclusively with wood pellets, Anna Maria College (AMC) announced today that it has partnered with International WoodFuels (www.iWoodFuels.com) to install and operate a state-of-the-art wood pellet central heating system on campus. The introduction of WoodFuels’ new Green Energy System, which is one of the first metered pellet boilers in the United States, will reduce the school’s carbon emissions by more than 900 tons annually, as well as displace nearly 85,000 gallons of #2 heating fuel that the college burns each year. These reductions will help AMC fulfill its obligation to the American College & University President’s Climate Commitment, which the college signed onto in 2007. “Anna Maria College has been Read More ... | |
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This PDF contains links to all of the tv, radio and printed press regarding our announcement that we are building a pellet plant in Burnham, Maine. Attachment: Click here for the PDF. | |
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International WoodFuels LLC expects to break ground in September for a 100,000 ton per year pellet plant next to Pride Manufacturing Co. LLC in Burnham, Maine, south of Pittsfield. Reference: Read more in the Portland Press Herald | |
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International WoodFuels to Build Wood Pellet Manufacturing Facility in Central Maine Company Will Create Green Jobs, Expand Renewable Thermal Heating Alternatives for New England Businesses Portland, Maine - Welcome news today for Maine; up to 35 new, “green” jobs at a Portland company that is offering risk-free, cost effective heating alternatives for commercial and institutional facilities. The renewable energy specialists at International WoodFuels, (www.iWoodFuels.com) in partnership with the business development team at non-profit Maine & Company, (www.MaineCo.org) announced plans to build a state-of-the-art biomass manufacturing facility in Burnham, Maine. The facility will have the capacity to produce 100,000 tons of locally sourced wood pellets annually. “Our Burnham facility will create up to 35 new jobs for Maine, and support the region’s existing foresters, loggers, and other biomass professionals,” said Steven J. Mueller, WoodFuels’ President. “These new, gr Read More ... Attachment: To view the full press release, please click on the attachment here. | |
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Maine Public Broadcasting Network - Reported by Tom Porter Dozens of green jobs are coming to central Maine in the next year, according to plans unveiled today at a press conference in Portland. The renewable energy company International WoodFuels says it plans to build a new wood pellet manufacturing facility in the central Maine town of Burnham. It should take about a year to get the $20 million dollar project up and running, says company president Steve Mueller. "We're excited about Maine. As sustainable harvestry goes, this is the number one state in the union. This is the most important place I think for the pellet industry in all of New England. We can produce and export a lot of pellets to other states, but we first have to serve the citizens of Maine," he said today at a news conference announcing the project. Mueller says 25 full-time jobs will be created at the plant, but more jobs will follow as the company turns to local trucking and logging companies for help. Go Read More ... Reference: Listen to the full NPR broadcast report by clicking on the "Listen" button in this link. | |
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Wall Street Journal - July 7, 2009 By RUSSELL GOLD Some of the fastest growing sources of renewable energy in the world are the wind, the sun -- and the lowly wood pellet. European utilities are snapping up the small combustible pellets to burn alongside coal in existing power plants. As a global marketplace emerges to feed their growing appetite for pellets, the Southeastern U.S. is becoming a major exporter, with pellet factories sprouting in Florida, Alabama and Arkansas. Fueling Europe A hydraulic lift thrusts a tractor-trailer into the sky to dump a load of sawdust that will be used for production of wood pellets at Green Circle. Wood pellets -- cylinders of dried shredded wood that resemble large vitamins -- are the least expensive way to meet European renewable-energy mandates, utility executives and industry consultants say. Made from fast-growing trees or sawdust, pellets are a pricier fuel than coal, but burning them is a less-expensive way to generate ele Read More ... Reference: View the slide show "Fueling Europe" by Jason Henry for the Wall Street Journal 0707-09 | |
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Goldman Raises Year-End Crude Forecast by 31% to $85 By Alexander Kwiatkowski and Stephen Voss (Update 3) June 4 (Bloomberg) -- Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its forecast for U.S. benchmark oil by 31 percent to $85 a barrel for the end of 2009 and predicted further gains next year as demand recovers and supplies shrink. “As the financial crisis eases, an energy shortage lies ahead,” Goldman analysts Jeffrey Currie in London and David Greely in New York said in a report e-mailed today. The bank set a 12-month price target of $90 a barrel for West Texas Intermediate crude, up from $70, and introduced a forecast of $95 for the end of 2010. Oil posted its biggest monthly gain in a decade in May, and this month traded above $69 a barrel for the first time since November on speculation a global economic recovery will trigger a rebound in demand. A decline in the value of the dollar has also drawn investors to crude and other commodities as an inflation hedge. The rally ha Read More ... Reference: Bloomberg Online - Goldman Sachs Article 0604-09 | |
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Energy-Efficient Upgrades Yield Valuable Tax Credits; Perks for the New Pellet Stove By GWENDOLYN BOUNDS I'm not among the one-in-nine homeowners who currently qualify for aid under the new federal housing-rescue plan. But Uncle Sam may still foot the bill for nearly $19,000 worth of upgrades at my house. And he could for you, too. Potentially lucrative new and expanded tax incentives for energy-efficient and renewable-energy home improvements may offer some consolation to homeowners who feel they are falling between the cracks with the government's various economic stimulus efforts. They include up to $1,500 in tax credits for adding qualifying windows, doors, insulation, roofs, heating and cooling equipment, water heaters and even wood and pellet stoves to your house in 2009 and 2010. Perks for installing pricier solar technology, small wind-energy systems or a geothermal-well system include a tax credit of 30% of qualifying expenditures with no upper limit through 2016. Read More ... Reference: The Wall Street Journal: | |
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March 10, 2009 Nine leading biomass companies form Biomass Thermal Energy Council New trade association will promote biomass heating Press Release from Washington, D.C. A group of nine leading biomass companies has formed the Biomass Thermal Energy Council (BTEC), a non-profit association dedicated to advancing the use of biomass for heat and other thermal energy applications. The founding members of BTEC include biomass fuel producers, appliance manufacturers and distributors, and supply chain companies that represent the breadth of interests in the fast growing biomass thermal energy industry. "The use of biomass for thermal energy is the most responsible and efficient use of this renewable resource," said Board Chairman Charlie Niebling. "There is enormous potential for wood pellets, wood chips, energy crops, agricultural residues and other forms of biomass to help meet America’s thermal energy needs." The initial founding members of the Biomass Thermal Energy Council are: Bear Mountain Forest Products, BioHeatUSA, Energex Corporation, Forest Energy Corporation, International WoodFuels, Marth, New England Wood Pellet, PelletSales.com, and Woodstone. Thermal energy accounts for roughly one-third of the energy used today in the United States. Renewable biomass resources can help meet this demand for thermal energy by providing heat for industrial processes as well as heating for businesses and homes. Today’s thermal uses of biomass include providi Read More ... Reference: Biomass Thermal Energy Council |
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"Are Wood Pellet Boilers the Future of Heating?" Energy & Environment Press Release From Almura Building Products PR Agency/Author: apt marketing & pr limited (openPR) - Most domestic and commercial boilers run on gas or oil – fossil fuels available in limited quantities – but the introduction of wood pellet boilers could offer a sustainable solution for our future heating needs. The National Grid has predicted that by 2013, 67% of our natural gas will be imported and by 2020 this will increase to 90%. However, the infrastructure is not in place to meet these requirements and gas is both difficult and costly to import; it costs approximately £1 million to lay 1kilometer of gas pipe work. Continuing to import oil and gas means the UK trade deficit (predicted to be £80billion by 2018) may not be sustainable and will reduce the value of the pound. This is a vicious circle that will result in only one outcome- raising the cost further in fuel prices. So what’s the soluti Read More ... | |
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Please click on the link to see the latest Carbon Monitor. Attachment: Carbon Monitor Volume 14, Issue 1 | |
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Portsmouth Herald – January 16, 2009 Franklin Pierce U. switching to wood pellet heat RINDGE, N.H. (AP) — Franklin Pierce University is replacing some of its oil burners with a wood pellet heating system to save money and reduce its carbon footprint. The goal is to convert boilers that heat several dormitories and the school's athletic complex this year. University President George Hagerty says the move will save the school money and allow it to more accurate project energy costs, while using a local and renewable resource. The school has contracted with International WoodFuels, which provides all the equipment at no capital cost, then bills customers for the heat they use. Reference: See this AP article about WF and FPU online | |
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Don’t get used to cheap oil and gas prices By John Porretto AP Energy Writer Publication Date: 01/16/09 HOUSTON (AP) - All that money you’re saving these days at the gas pump? You might want to put it in the bank. The same cheap oil that’s providing relief to drivers and businesses in an awful economy is setting the stage for another price spike, perhaps as soon as next year, that will bring back painful memories of last summer’s $4-a-gallon gas. The oil industry is scaling back on exploration and production because some projects don’t make economic sense when energy prices are low. And crude is already harder to find because more nations that own oil companies are blocking outside access to their oil fields. When the world emerges from the recession and starts to burn more fuel again, and higher demand meets lower supply, prices will almost certainly shoot higher. Some analysts say oil could eventually eclipse $150 a barrel, maybe even on its way to $200. In such a s Read More ... Reference: the Alaska Journal of Commerce online | |
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Intelligent Investing Panel Don't Get Used To Cheap Oil David Serchuk 01.14.09, 6:00 AM ET Once again, Americans can fill their gas tanks for around $20. While this might be a good feeling, don't expect it to last. With oil trading at $37.28 per barrel, down 75% since its $147.27 peak in July, it's tempting to believe that, with the world in recession and emerging economies on ice (at least for the foreseeable future), oil consumption should remain cheap. And though the price of black gold continues to test multi-year bottoms, the leading policy experts in the field say the ride down should remain a relatively short one. Specifically, the Paris-based International Energy Association, which advises on energy policy for 28 nations, sees that not only should energy use spike once again, but that prices should skyrocket in the long to mid-term. The IEA sees global demand for oil rising 1% per year from 85 million barrels a day in 2007 to 106 million barrels in 2030. As a Read More ... Reference: You may also read this article at Forbes.com: | |
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By Brian O'Keefe, senior editor The case for buying oil stocks Investor Daily: Even with gas prices in free fall and the global economy sputtering, now may be the time to bulk up on oil shares (if you dare). Last Updated: November 21, 2008: 7:26 AM ET NEW YORK (Fortune) -- Last week, the Paris-based International Energy Agency released its World Energy Outlook 2008 - a 578-page book full of future supply, demand, and price estimates which this year also included an eagerly-awaited study of 800 of the world's largest oil fields. Here's the executive summary: Buy oil stocks. Considering that the price of oil has plummeted from $147 a barrel in early July to below $50 and that the global economic slowdown is putting a major damper on demand, that might not seem like such a good idea. But as the IEA study makes clear, the long-term supply and demand picture for oil continues to favor higher prices. Maybe much higher. The report estimates that energy demand will grow 1.6% Read More ... Reference: The original Fortune Magazine article can be viewed here: | |
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Berlin Reporter - November 12, 2008 by Sally Manikian, staff writer GORHAM — The continuing fluctuations in the price of oil has many individuals, businesses, and public buildings looking to ways to cut fuel costs. With increasing demand for alternative energy, there are now a variety of options available. SAU 20 has been in negotiations with International WoodFuels (IWF) for a pellet boiler for the Middle-High School (GMHS). The boiler would be installed free of charge. The cost is a 10- year energy service agreement that holds GMHS to purchase metered energy through wood pellets from a IWF facility. SAU 20 had been researching their options for biomass, when IWF approached them with this offer, said Superintendent Paul Bousquet. With a newly insulated roof, the school district wanted to be “prudent” about the next step in choosing what kind of energy to put in the building. “When you’re paying $3 for oil, there has to be a better way to save the town and the taxpayers so Read More ... | |
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Please click on the link to read the attached PDF of this newsletter article. Attachment: 25 x '25 Newsletter 11-08 | |
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Report warns that average 2009 oil bill for Mass. household could top $3,000 Massachusetts residents who heat their homes with natural gas or oil could end up paying nearly $1 billion more this year than they did in 2007, about a 30 percent increase, according to a University of Massachusetts report set to be released today. "It's a tremendous amount of money out of people's pockets," said Robin Sherman, the report's lead author. "People can cut back on [heating] to some extent if it gets too expensive, but there's obviously a floor beyond which they can't go to keep themselves in their homes without freezing." The increase will have an especially dramatic impact on the nearly 1 million households that are heated with oil, which now sells for about $4.70 a gallon, up from $2.59 a year ago, according to the Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources. Heating costs are expected to keep rising, the report says. The state's average household oil bill next year could top $3,000, according to the report by the UMass Donahue Institute, a university think tank. All told, consumers can expect to spend $4.45 billion for gas and oil heat in 2009 - a $469 million increase from 2008. Sherman said the cost of heating a home depends on factors such as the constantly changing price of oil - which some analysts believe is being driven by speculation - and predictions of an unusually cold winter, which could cause prices to spike even higher than they are now. Natural gas customers als Read More ... |
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If the Senate could summon some wisdom, it would interrupt its mud wrestling over partisan placebos for the gas crisis long enough to debate something real: emergency help for the nation's poorest families who face skyrocketing home heating costs this winter. The Democratic leadership is wisely aiming for a procedural vote in the next day or two that would free up time to debate a badly needed measure to double the existing Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program to $5.1 billion. With 50 co-sponsors, including 12 Republicans, the measure is a must-pass priority if Congress is to have any credibility in facing the energy crisis with something more than the hot air of campaign rhetoric. Utility analysts warn that the price of heating oil could double this winter in the hardest-hit regions, while natural-gas costs could shoot up 50 percent. This can only mean a deepening crisis for the poorest Americans — the disabled and retired on fixed incomes and impoverished families with child Read More ... | |
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By TUX TURKEL, Staff Writer Portland Press Herald/Maine Sunday Telegram Northern Utilities asks to increase its summer price and likely will seek a similar hike this winter. Under current summer rates, a typical household that uses gas to heat water, cook food and dry clothes pays $92 a month. The dominant distributor of natural gas in southern Maine is asking state regulators for a midsummer rate increase of 17 percent, a prelude to what are expected to be even higher gas costs during the heating season. Northern Utilities projects that natural gas rates for home customers this winterwill be 15 percent to 20 percent higher than last year. The company also doesn't rule out the need to seek another rate hike beyond that projected increase. The increases are necessary, Northern Utilities argues in its filing to the Maine Public Utilities Commission, because the company is not collecting enough money from ratepayers to cover higher-priced gas. Worldwide demand for natural Read More ... Reference: MaineToday.com | |
