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In Case You Missed it
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Top stories in past issues:
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Office Equipment Needed
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Have a printer, scanner or computer that is still relatively up to date and in good working order that you don't need? Donate it to the Alliance for Green Heat and get a tax credit. Contact: [email protected]
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Wood Stove Design Challenge
 Rookie wood stove makers get highest score in Design Workshop
AGH - A stove designed and built by graduate engineering students received the highest score in an international Stove Design Workshop focused on automated wood stove technology.
AGH - Part of the Workshop rules was a requirement that teams had to publicly share their test results, which is a key part of the collaborative and educational process.
CBS national news chose the Collaborative Stove Design Workshop as the most important thing happening Tuesday Nov. 4.
Green Building Magazine featured on wood stoves and covered the top scoring stoves at the 2013 Wood Stove Decathlon (see p. 55).
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AGH Projects and Activities
Webinar: Best practices in stove incentive programs
AGH - The University of Maryland Extension program hosts a webinar on Thursday, Dec. 4th, 12 - 1pm on 'best practices' in wood and pellet stove incentive programs across the United States, with the Maryland rebate program as a case study.
Update: USDA added to best heating fuel calculators
AGH - We reviewed scores of popular fuel calculators and found many of them biased. USDA just updated theirs and it is now one of the best, along with hearth.com. Meanwhile, EIA dropped their calculator because of controversies over efficiency estimates.
Perfect storm for a pellet and firewood shortage
AGH - As winter approaches, there are unprecedented firewood shortages in the Northeast and Great Lake states. This may result in the impression that biomass is taxing our forests too heavily, when it's almost entirely due to other factors.
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Washington Watch
Government report says wood & pellet heat do
minates residential renewables
AGH - The 2014 Winter Fuel Outlook released by the EIA predicted that wood and pellet heating would continue being the nation's fasting growing heat source. Wood and pellet heating grew 38% from 2004 to 2013, and now accounts for 2.5% of primary home heating.
In the lead up to the NSPS announcement, the hearth industry is very focused on the fate of warm air furnaces and got 37 Senators to sign a letter to the EPA urging them to give manufacturers another year to sell unregulated units. AGH believes the Senators request is way too broad and should not include scores of units made by companies with no ability or intention to be certified.
While EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy celebrated Energy Star Day, heralding the power of a label to help consumers and the environment, the EPA is proposing to discontinue a consumer label for wood and pellet stoves in the NSPS. The industry trade group, HPBA, agreed with EPA. We believe the EPA will back down on this issue, and keep the label in the final NSPS.
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Focus on Incentive Programs
Trends in Residential Stove Incentive programs
 And to those states on the fence about implementing wood heating incentive programs, Emilee van Norden of the Maryland Energy Administration has the following advice to offer: "It's a smart way to help people, it's very practical, and it helps them lower their energy bills."
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International
Saudi Arabia: Overnight drops in temperature in the Northern Border Province to below two degrees have doubled sales in winter clothes and heating devices in the region.
States
Another $2 million available for upgrading stoves, inserts
CA: Having burned through almost $2 million - and quite rapidly - air regulators approved another $2 million to changeout program.
CA: Why put an air quality monitor near a bakery and barbecue joint when you can put them on public school grounds?
MA, CT & RI: The EPA facilitated a $1.8 million fine to replace 881 stoves, at a cost of $2,043 per stove.
CO: According to firewood retailers in Denver, the price and demand for firewood is about 30% higher this year.
MA: Mass. launches $2.6 million dollar program which provides homeowners with rebates to install clean and cost-effective residential heating technologies, including pellet heating systems.
MA: Under the new law, the Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources will calculate the amount of energy generated over a 10-year period and award those credits up front.
NH: Pellet supplies are tight and spotty, but industry experts think they may hold up through the winter.
NH: Biomass heating for commercial, municipal and school operations growing in NH.
MT: For one community in Western Montana, unhealthy air quality became the norm during the winter months. Two years ago, measures were taken by the Missoula County Health Department to decrease pollution for those who were most affected.
UT: Homeowners and renters who use wood burning stoves in Salt Lake County next winter could face fines if they burn on what the state considers voluntary no-burn days.
UT: A Morgan County judge has concluded that smoke billowing from a residential wood-burning boiler did not pose the kind of nuisance that an unhappy neighbor could collect damages for.
 UT: Habit and cost are major obstacles to persuading Wasatch Front holdouts to switch to cleaner heating systems.Wood smoke plays a surprisingly large impact on the Wasatch Front's wintertime air quality so the state is encouraging residents to convert wood-burning devices to natural gas. Antique stoves still being refurbished for aficionados VT: Craftsmen still polish the old nickel and chrome as they keep old cook stoves alive. WA: Just growing trees and setting aside the forest is not enough. Sustainable forest practices and better uses of wood can efficiently reduce carbon dioxide in the atmosphere for the long term.
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Upcoming Conferences and Webinars
Dec 4, 2014, 12-1pm EST
AGH will present in this webinar which provides an overview of the"best practices" in wood and pellet stove incentive programs.
Washington DC, December 7-10, 2014
BECC is the premier event on understanding individual and organizational behavior and decision-making related to energy, greenhouse gas emissions, climate change, and sustainability.
Dec 10, 2014, 1:30--2:30pm EST
Solix will examine best practices for program oversight and management in low-income energy assistance programs.
Kirkland, WA, Jan 23-24, 2015
The premier annual North American conference on cookstoves and heat stoves in the developing world.
Seattle, WA, February 2-3, 2015 ACI is excited to return to Seattle, WA for the 2015 Northwest Regional Home Performance Conference!
NASEO is the only national non-profit association for the governor-designated energy officials from each of the 56 states and territories.
Lancaster, PA, February 18-21, 2015
The National Chimney Sweep Guild is now accepting speaker proposals for presentations at the NCSG 2015 National Convention.
Wels, Austria, 25-27, 2015 The World Sustainable Energy Days are one of the largest annual conferences in this field in Europe, offering a unique combination of events on sustainable energy. Wels, Austria, February 25-26, 2015
With more than 600 participants every year, the European Pellet Conference is the largest annual pellet event in the world!
Nashville, TN, March 5-7, 2015
The annual trade show for North American stove, barbecue and patio manufacturers, distributors and retailers.
Portland, ME, April 16-18, 2015
The event unites a diverse audience from the biomass sectors to break barriers and ground for biomass thermal and CHP systems.
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