Features

Applications for firewood bank funding running high

AGH has received 26 applications in just over a month, for more than one third of the $824,000 we have to grant this year. Applications came from 11 states, with 14 from tribes.  Eight banks have already received grants this fall totalling $111,000. We recommend applicants get their applications in by end of October. Grants are reviewed and paid out on a first come, first serve basis.

States sues EPA to act on wood stove emissions

Alaska, New York, Oregon and seven other states in suing the EPA for failing to take timely action to on regulating wood stove emissions. The suit is simply based on the EPA not updating the NSPS every 8 years as required by law. AGH believes the EPA needs to get it right this time, and not rush through the process.

AGH webinar series

Look out for the registration link to our next webinar, "State Clean Heat Standards: Integrating Equity and Wood Heating," set to take place in November. If you missed our last webinar, "Pellet Heating in the Age of Heat Pumps" click here for the slides and check out the full recording here.

The U.S. DOE announces Wood Heater Design Challenge winners

Congratulations to Davidon Industries from Warwick, Rhode Island, which won the first-place prize of $40,000 for its mechanically automated, combustion-air control technology that has a high potential for commercialization. Second place, $25,000, went to Aprovecho Research Center and third place, $10,000 to Kleiss Engineering.

U.S. Forest Service slashed price of firewood cutting permits to reduce wildfire fuel in National Forest

The Forest Service cut the price from $10 a cord to $2 a cord in hopes of encouraging more people to gather their own firewood and help reduce the amount of potential wildfire fuel building up in the forest.

Firewood Banks

Webinar on starting a Firewood Bank?

Join John Ackerly and Darian Dyer of the Alliance for Green Heat and Dr. Jessica Leahy of the University of Maine for a conversation about how to start and run a wood bank and the new federal funding available to start-up wood banks this year.

Saratoga Forest Products gives back to community

Every year Gary Ervin, the owner of SFP offers free firewood to local residents to haul away. On Friday afternoons through September this program is open to Platte Valley residents.

Lander Lutherans aim to keep community warm

“We found that this service filled a greater need than we had first anticipated,” the Pastor shared. “Therefore, we have continued each year gathering, cutting and splitting wood for those in need over the cold winter months.

Legal

Neighbor’s wood-burning stove not a nuisance

The plaintiffs sued alleging their neighbor's wood-burning furnace was a nuisance. At trial, the court found that the plaintiffs failed to prove a nuisance and refused to grant an injunction. Though courts in Iowa and other Midwest states have found smoke to be a nuisance, the appellate court did not find the plaintiffs’ evidence to be credible.

Increasing number of UK councils plan to fine houseboat owners for burning wood

Councils are unlikely to have the resources to regularly monitor emissions from boat chimneys, so they will depend on public complaints. However, this system could be exploited by residents hostile to itinerant lifestyles, potentially leading to the smoke controls being used as a means to move on boaters.

Wood Stove Testing

Paper on real-life emissions from residential wood burning appliances in New Zealand 

The study provides the first field emissions for low emission wood burners in Australasia, and a base from which future studies may be developed. The study suggested that the current value used to represent low emission wood burners, 3 g/kg, in some circumstances, may underestimate real-life emissions by a factor of up to 4 or 5.

Distributed Energy

Are distributed renewable energy projects the answer to interconnection woes?

“Distributed” energy is another term for energy made and used locally, in contrast to centralized power plants that rely on the grid to get to your home. Rooftop solar is distributed energy as are wood and pellet stoves and boilers, which help relieve grid stress.

Using Forests and Fields for Solar Farms

One of this year's biggest solar bills is all about forests and farms

People often think that heating with wood leads to a loss of forests and forest habitat, but solar farms are likely a far greater threat. After all, almost all fields in the eastern US are former forests, and could easily be forests again if they were allowed to grow back.  

Farms and forests are bad locations for solar projects

Clear cutting forests and compacting and covering healthy soils for large-scale solar farms threaten to replace the vast array of benefits, with polluted runoff degrading streams, increased nuisance flooding, loss of critical wildlife habitat, and even the release of soil carbon back into the atmosphere. 

Starting a Firewood Bank?

Online event, October 5, 2023

Join the Alliance for Green Heat and Dr. Jessica Leahy of the University of Maine for a conversation about how to start and run a wood bank and new federal funding for them.

International Training Seminar- Sustainable Bioenergy Heating

Linz, Austria, October 2-5, 2023

The International Training Seminar focuses on small- to mid-scale projects fueled by wood pellets and wood chips: homes, smaller commercial buildings and district heating grids .

Alaska-Canada Wood Energy Conference

Fairbanks, Alaska, October 3-5, 2023

Theme for this year: Heating and Building the Arctic.

Strategies for Reducing Air Pollutants from Wood Combustion in Stressed Regions

Online event, October 5, 2023

This event showcases European and North American strategies for reducing air pollution and is part of an exchange between the IEA Bioenergy experts and American experts. 

Annual Renewable Energy Vermont Conference

South Burlington, Vermont, October 18-19, 2023

The largest comprehensive renewable energy gathering in the region, bringing together a variety of stakeholders that are ready to build a path to a 100% renewable energy future.

Renewable Thermal Collaborative Summit

Washington, D.C., October 19-20, 2023

The Renewable Thermal Collaborative (RTC) is the global coalition for companies, institutions, and governments committed to scaling up renewable heating and cooling.

Bioenergy Day

October 20, 2023

National Bioenergy Day showcases the importance of local renewable wood energy markets to sustainably manage forests, prevent forests

Masonry Heaters: Basics in Theory & Practice Class

Richmond, Indiana (and online), October 18-25, 2023

A foundational course in masonry heater construction and design. This class shows how a masonry heater functions, the various designs and construction techniques.



2023 Local Energy Solutions Conference

Manchester, New Hampshire, November 2, 2023

This Conference is New Hampshire's premier energy event for local energy champions, policymakers, municipal officials, state agencies, and industry representatives.

2023 New England Home Performance Conference & Trade Show

Springfield, Massachusetts, November 7-8, 2023

This two-day conference will deliver the latest region-specific updates and information to home performance and weatherization professionals living and working in New England.

European Bioenergy Future 2023

Schaerbeek, Belgium, November 28-30, 2023

One track at this event will bring together key stakeholders and market actors to discuss the immediate, but also the long-term perspectives, for the premium pellet heat market.

HBPExpo

Nashville, Tennessee, February 13-15, 2024

HPBExpo offers interactive experiences, networking events and forums for conversations with peers and connections with industry colleagues.

World Sustainable Energy Days 2024

Wels, Austria, March 5-8, 2024

The event shows how to achieve the high policy ambitions of the upcoming EU legislation and how to strengthen the clean energy markets.

Young Energy Researchers 2024

Wels, Austria, March 5, 2024

A conference on the work and achievements of young researchers in the fields of energy efficiency and biomass.

2024 European Pellet Conference

Wels, Austria, March 6, 2024

The largest annual pellet event worldwide focuses on the role pellets in the clean energy transition and the circular economy.

2024 National Chimney Sweep Guild Convention & Trade Show

Orlando, Florida, March 20-23, 2024

Largest gathering of chimney sweeps in the United States. The event offers a variety of technical & business classes with continuing education units and a trade show.

2024 National Home Performance Conference

Minneapolis, Minnesota, April 8-11, 2024

This conference brings together contractors, weatherization professionals, trainers, program administrators and energy auditors working on residential energy efficiency.

Alliance for Green Heat | (202) 365-4765 | [email protected] | | www.forgreenheat.org