Published: June 11, 2010
WoodPellets.com Commends Patrick Administration for Groundbreaking Biomass Sustainability Study
GOFFSTOWN, N.H. - (BUSINESS WIRE) - WoodPellets.com,
the nation's leading independent distributor and direct-to-consumer
provider of wood pellet heating fuel, applauds the findings of a six-month
study commissioned by the Massachusetts
Department of Energy Resources and conducted by the Manomet
Center for Conservation Science. This study concluded that "the use
of biomass for heating and combined heat and power (CHP) facilities
would result in a 25 percent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions
in 2050 relative to oil, but biomass-fired electricity would result in a
3 percent increase in emissions over coal-fired electricity in 2050."
"This study offers further evidence that using renewable biomass
to generate heat is the cleanest, most efficient use of our biomass
resources. Homeowners have a tremendous opportunity to decrease
greenhouse gas emissions, to reduce our dependence on foreign oil, and
to save on their heating costs by using wood pellets for heating,"
said WoodPellets.com CEO Jon Strimling. "In a world where BP's
recent oil spill has made us only too aware of the environmental hazards
of oil, consumers and businesses can switch to a safe, domestically
produced alternative today. From high efficiency heating appliances to
sustainably harvested fuel and convenient fuel delivery systems, all the
pieces are in place for the renewable heating revolution. We invite
every citizen to join us in this movement."
Thermal energy, essentially heat, accounts for roughly one-third of the
total energy used in the US. Europe has proven that biomass can replace
oil heat and displace carbon emissions. To fully confront our nation's
energy crisis and reduce greenhouse gas emissions, a comprehensive
policy must address the thermal sector, not only the electric and
transportation sectors. "Now what we need is a Renewable Thermal
Standard to tackle the heating sector," proposed Strimling.
"Investing in the thermal energy sector will not only slash our
greenhouse gas emissions, it will also lower energy costs for homeowners
and businesses." Consumers who switch from heating oil to wood
pellet fuel can save
hundreds of dollars in annual energy costs.i
But consumers are not the only ones who can save on their heating costs.
In Massachusetts alone, state and federal agencies contributed over $233
million to providing heating fuel assistance in 2008. Nationwide, fuel
assistance programs in 2010 totaled over $5.1 billion, with most of
those expenditures supporting oil purchases. "By spending billions
of dollars of public funds annually, the LIHEAP and state fuel
assistance programs are essentially enabling our nation's addiction to
oil heating," Strimling commented. "We are calling on
policymakers to ensure that at least a portion of our heating assistance
program funds are allocated to enable a transition to clean, renewable,
locally produced, and carbon neutral heating fuels. This switch could
provide heat at a lower cost, effectively enabling LIHEAP to provide
coverage for more families across the state."
39% of Massachusetts homes are heated with heating oil, compared to a
national average of just 9%. Those homes consumed 15,253,000 barrels of
oil in 2008, and emitted 14 billion tons of C02.ii The
Manomet study found that heating with renewable biomass instead of
heating oil will reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 25%. With the second
highest residential fuel oil consumption in the nation, Massachusetts
can slash greenhouse gas emissions by helping consumers make the switch
from fossil fuels to renewable biomass fuels.
WoodPellets.com applauds Department of Energy Resources Commissioner
Phil Giudice's desire to "begin the process of refining our renewable
energy regulations to provide incentives only for biomass energy that
truly reduces our greenhouse gas emissions and protects our forests."iii
Thermal biomass appliances are currently eligible for many clean energy
tax credits and incentives, including a 30% federal tax credit, up to
$1,500, for qualifying biomass stoves. More than a million families in
the U.S. already heat their homes with wood pellets or biomass fuels.
i http://www.woodpellets.com/support/save-money-woodpellets.aspx
ii U.S. Energy Information Administration, Independent
Statistics and Analysis, State of Massachusetts, updated Jan. 2010. : http://tonto.eia.doe.gov/state/state_energy_profiles.cfm?sid=MA
iii Press Release, Massachusetts Department of Energy
Resources, "Patrick-Murray Administration Releases Biomass
Sustainability Study," June 10, 2010
WoodPellets.com
Jon Strimling, 603-263-2951
jstrimling@woodpellets.com
or
Lisa
Rockefeller, 781-454-7834
lrockefeller@woodpellets.com
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