Season's Greetings HTM supporters-
As 2018 comes to a close, the HTM Steering Committee would like to extend a "warm" thank you for your continued engagement and enthusiasm. Among HTM's activities over the past year, the 7th Annual Heating the Midwest Conference and Expo held in Carlton, Minnesota back in May was a highlight for me. It was great to see many of you in-person as we discussed our region's successes and challenges. I'm also excited by the many ways that, together, we can build additional support for biomass thermal energy as we move into 2019!
Recently, President Trump signed the Farm Bill (the Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018) into law. The bill reauthorizes the Energy Title (IX) and important programs that will assist producers and rural communities in harnessing opportunities to use agriculture and forestry resources for sustainable energy. A new addition in the 2018 Farm Bill was the Timber Innovation Act that will also help expand markets for mass timber.
As we embrace winter, the
U.S. Energy Information Administration
(EIA) expects average household bills for home heating from most major energy sources to rise this heating season. This is due to higher forecast energy prices while temperatures are expected to be similar to last year for most of the country. EIA anticipates home heating oil bills will rise by 20%, natural gas by 5%, electricity by 3% with propane bills about the same as last winter. This may provide additional opportunities to grow the estimated base of 2.1 million households across the country who used cord wood or wood pellets as the primary residential space-heating fuel in 2017. According to the EIA, another 8% of households use wood as a secondary source of heat, placing wood behind only electricity as a supplemental heating fuel.
Thanks again for your support and participation with HTM! Have a terrific holiday season and talk with you in the new year!
Gregg Mast
HTM
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- Preliminary Agenda Announced for 12th Annual IBC
- House Passes 2018 Farm Bill
- EIA Updates 2018, 2019 Bioenergy Production, Capacity Forecasts
- Mark Your Calendar with NW CERT
- Industry Publications
- National Funding Opportunities
- Minnesota Funding Opportunities
- LinkedIn
- Free Publications
- Ideas for SWET
- Become an Action Team Volunteer
- Call for news
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Preliminary Agenda Announced for 12th Annual International Biomass Conference & Expo
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Produced by Biomass Magazine and BBI International, the event is the largest gathering of biomass industry stakeholders in the world.
Savannah, GA
– (December 13, 2018) –
Biomass Magazine
announced this week the agenda for the 12
th
Annual International Biomass Conference & Expo taking place
March 18-20, 2019 at the
Savannah International Trade & Convention Center in Savannah, Georgia. The three-day agenda will be divided into four tracks covering pellets & densified biomass, biomass power & thermal, biogas & waste-to-energy, and advanced biofuels & biobased chemicals, as well as a pre-conference event titled, the Biomass Preparation, Handling and Storage Workshop. The pre-conference event is a full-day session taking place Monday, March 18, prior to the evening opening reception in the expo hall and will detail the latest advancements in material handling.
Read the full press release
here
.
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House Passes 2018 Farm Bill
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The U.S. House of Representatives passed the $867 billion 2018 Farm Bill by a vote of 369 to 47 on Dec. 12. The legislation will now be sent to President Trump’s desk. Trump is expected to sign the bill later this week.
Passage of the bill comes after months of delays. The House Agriculture Committee first released a draft of the legislation in April. The House passed its version of the bill on June 21, while the Senate
passed its version
of the legislation a week later, on June 28.
Read the full story
here
.
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EIA Updates 2018, 2019 Bioenergy Production, Capacity Forecasts
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The U.S. Energy Information Administration has released the December edition of its Short-Term Energy Outlook, predicting that nonhydropower renewables will provide 10 percent of U.S. utility-scale power generation this year, increasing to 11 percent in 2011.
The EIA currently predicts wood biomass will be used to generate 114,000 MWh per day of electricity this year, increasing to 117,000 MWh per day in 2019. Waste biomass is expected to be used to generate 58,000 MWh of generation in both years.
Read the full story
here
.
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Mark Your Calendar with NW CERT: Jan. 23rd Warren Film Festival
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You, your neighbors, and colleagues are invited to the Warren Film Festival, featuring three films:
- Emmy-award winning Redford film featuring Warren
- Twin Cities Public Television film featuring Warren
- the new “Power of Minnesota” documentary which tells the story of how clean energy is making local economies throughout our region even stronger.
During this free event, you’ll enjoy refreshments, join a community conversation, celebrate Warren’s clean energy developments, and learn how you can take action on your own projects!
Agenda:
6:30pm – Social hour, refreshments, and resources
7:00pm – Film screenings and community discussion/Q&A
8:30pm – Refreshments, networking, and resources
9:00pm – Event ends
This event is hosted by the City of Warren, Minnkota Power Cooperative, University of Minnesota's Northwest Regional Sustainable Development Partnership (NW RSDP), and Northwest Clean Energy Resource Team (NW CERT). This event is free and open to the public.
Time & location:
Wednesday, January 23, 2019 - 6:30pm to 9:00pm
WAO High School Auditorium
224 E Bridge Ave
Warren, MN 56762
RSVP now and invite some friends... It is going to be a great celebration of Warren and clean energy in Minnesota!
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New Publication
Poultry-Barn-Heating-with-Wood-Energy
Recent Publications:
Other publications:
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National Funding Opportunities
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USDA’s Rural Energy for America Program
(REAP) grant can cover 25% of project costs and a project can begin after an application has been submitted. Applications are due April 1, 2018 for projects of any size. REAP grants are competitive (1 in 4 applicants awarded).
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.
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Minnesota Funding Opportunities
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Additional details available
here
.
Energy Education at the Local Level Grant Program
The Minnesota Department of Commerce State Energy Office has developed a small grants program to promote energy education at the local level. The program will award grants of up to $5,000 to carry out energy education initiatives. It is available to qualified applicants, either individuals or partnerships, who are educators (pre-K through grade 12) at schools, youth groups, educational programs, nonprofits, or other civic organizations.
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HTM has joined LinkedIn, Facebook & Twitter
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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
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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
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Have Biomass Project Ideas for SWET?
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Michigan Statewide Wood Energy Team
Wisconsin Statewide Wood Energy Team
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Heating the Midwest- Become an Action Team Volunteer!
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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 on the Biomass Resources & Demographics Action Team, please contact Mike Marsollek (
[email protected]
); and for the Biomass Policy & Benefits Action Team, please contact Gregg Mast (
[email protected]
). Questions pertaining to the Biomass Combustion Technologies Action Team can be forwarded to either action team chair noted, or feel free to contact Becky Philipp (
[email protected]
), steering committee member.
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Call for Your Midwest Biomass Stories and Events for January Newsletter
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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
[email protected]
. And, if you'd like to be on the list to receive upcoming newsletters, please contact Kelsey Loeffler at
[email protected]
.
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