Lignetics

By Luke Geiver | January 04, 2013

The Pellet Fuels Institute held a December 2012 fly-in trip to Washington, D.C., to fight for a biomass heating tax incentive, and those efforts have paid off. Included in the fiscal cliff tax deal was the stove tax credit, which provides a tax credit of 10 percent up to $300 for the purchase of any biomass burning appliance, including pellet stoves. The credit lasts through 2013 and is retroactive through 2012.

Jennifer Hedrick, executive director of the PFI, said that although it may be difficult to judge a single incentive such as this one, PFI thinks that it will have a positive impact on fuel and stove sales.

“When the credit was included in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act in 2009, we were in the midst of a recession, and we did not see the spike in stove shipments that we anticipated. However,” she said, “with the economic rebound, as well as the high heating costs that many Americans continue to be faced with, we’re hopeful that this credit will provide further incentive for homeowners to switch to a biomass heating appliance.”

Although PFI was successful in its efforts to push the stove tax credit, Hedrick said her team will now be focusing on new areas. In addition to attempts to help the current Farm Bill’s Energy Title receive full funding, PFI will also continue to focus on tax policy, including, she said, incentives for the conversion of biomass for use in thermal applications. “And, like all industries, we will be following the anticipated tax reform debate with a watchful eye and will seek opportunities to weigh in there.”

PFI is also working with other trade groups, the Biomass Thermal Energy Council, the Hearth, Patio & Barbecue Association and other companies within the industry to encourage the Energy Information Administration to expand coverage of residential biomass usage in their energy reports.

EIA Administrator Sieminski says wood pellets represent a "significant opportunity" for consumers to save money
Bryant, Trane and American Standard furnaces needed repairs the least often, according to the Consumer Report survey of 32,251 appliances bought by subscribers of the magazine. Many other brands, including Carrier, Rheen, Ruud and Lennox, held up nearly as well. Consumer Reports also has excellent general advice about purchasing a gas furnace.

October 10, 2012- The U.S. government released its annual assessment of prices and availability of heating fuels today and for the first time it included information on pellets and firewood. After gas and electricity, wood is the third most common heating fuel in America, but the annual Winter Fuels Outlook had never discussed it prior to the 2012-13 heating season.

The Winter Fuels Outlook is put out by the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), an independent statistical and analytical agency within the Department of Energy. Reports published by the agency are the premier source of energy information in the country and are used to guide economic policy and educate the public.

During today's press conference, EIA Administrator Adam Sieminski mentioned the "significant opportunity" for consumers to supplement their oil heat with wood pellets, as well as with electricity.

The inclusion of wood and pellets in the Winter Fuels Outlook came after over a year of discussions and meetings between the EIA and a coalition of wood and pellet groups. Senator Shaheen (D-NH) also raised the importance of pellets as an alternative to oil in New England with Administrator Sieminski.

According to the EIA, wood and pellets now produce more residential heat in the US than propane and nearly as much as oil. Wood produces 0.5 quadrillion Btu (quads) per year, propane 0.49 quads and oil 0.6.

EIA projects that average household expenditures for heating oil and natural gas will increase by 19 percent and 15 percent respectively over last heating season. The agency expects the country will experience colder temperatures compared to last year's mild winter, with oil and gas prices remaining virtually the same.

In terms of wood and pellets, the report said:
Wood consumption in homes has risen over the past 10 years, reversing a trend seen in the last two decades of the 20th century. In 2009, U.S. households consumed about 0.5 quadrillion Btu (quads) of wood. Household fuel oil consumption, by comparison, was only slightly higher at 0.6 quads. In homes across the United States, wood is most commonly used as a secondary source of heat and is second only to electricity as a supplemental heating fuel. Twenty percent of New England homes (1.1 million) used wood for space heating, water heating, or cooking in 2009 (EIA, Residential Energy Consumption Survey, 2009). This is nearly twice the national rate. Almost half of all rural households used wood in this area of the country. In contrast, only 12 percent of urban New England households used the fuel.
According to data previously published by the EIA, the average American household heating with wood consumes two cords of wood per year. This number includes homes that use wood or pellets as a primary, secondary or occasional heat source. The EIA also documents that consumption in rural areas is more than twice that of urban areas. The EIA estimates that 91% of homes that heat with wood use firewood, 8% use wood scrap and 6% use pellets.

Wood use also trends strongly with income level, according to EIA survey data, with households making $20,000 or less using more than twice the amount of wood as households making $120,000 or more. 

"The EIA's focus on wood and pellets is an important and timely step in the right direction," said John Ackerly, President of the Alliance for Green Heat, a non-profit consumer organization based in the DC area. "The next step is for states to start including the price of pellets in their monthly fuel price reports," Ackerly added.
 
#  #  #
 
The Alliance for Green Heat promotes wood and pellet heat as a low-carbon, sustainable and affordable energy solution. The Alliance is a 510c3 non-profit organization based in Maryland.

Visit this link to see a detailed comparison of fuel prices from 1995 to June 2012.

Finland's Third Largest Coal User May Replace 40% of Coal With Biomass at Plants
By: Torsten Fagerholm
Bloomberg.com

Helsingin Energia, Finland's third-biggest coal user, may replace as much as 40 percent of its coal with wood pellets at two plants in the next eight years to limit carbon emissions and boost renewable energy output.

Helsingin Energia, the country's biggest municipal utility, strives to find an "optimal fuel mix" for replacing 5 to 10 percent of coal use by co-firing 100,000 metric tons of wood pellets annually starting 2014, and possibly 40 percent by 2020, after tests which are taking place through April, it said today in an e-mailed statement.

At stake is the fuel mix at two of the company's main facilities, the 226-megawatt Hanasaari and 160-megawatt Salmisaari cogeneration plants in Helsinki, as the city owner strives to cut emissions by replacing fossil fuels with renewable energy sources at the utility which supplies power to 400,000 households...(to read the full article, please click here)

2011 Census Shows Wood Heat Continues to Rise in U.S.

The number of American households using wood as a primary source of heat increased 1.72% this year, continuing a decade long growth spurt for the renewable heating fuel, according to the U.S. Census 2011 American Community Survey (ACS). The survey estimates that 2.11% of U.S. homes use wood-derived fuel as their primary heating source, compared to 2.08% in 2010.

While the growth spurt is continuing, it is also showing signs of slowing down. In the last six years, wood heat showed its greatest uptick in 2005-2006, growing 8.5% in one year. On average from 2000 to 2010, wood grew 4.5% each year, so a 1.7% increase last year may indicate a softening of the market.

The US Census does annual surveys based on sample populations which are then extrapolated to estimate trends in the entire country. The margin of error is higher during these annual surveys than during the decennial surveys where the Census tries to contact all households. The slower rate of rise in wood heat in 2010 may not be connected to the warm winter of 2011-2012 as that winter occurred mostly in 2012.

The ACS does not track secondary heat use, but it is likely that more Americans are using wood to supplement their main fuel as well. According to the 2009 EIA Renewable Energy Consumption Survey, 7.7% of American homes used wood as a supplemental source of heat and wood was the second most common secondary home heating fuel behind electricity. When more homes use wood or pellets as primary heat, the number of homes using it as a secondary heat source grows as well, as far as we know.

Read more