Wood Bioenergy » Biomass Thermal Energy Council

U.S. Forest Service Awards Grant To Biomass Council

Web Editor — Fri, 21 Oct 2011 16:07:34 +0000

The Biomass Thermal Energy Council (BTEC) and Resource Professional Group (RPG) recently announced that they were awarded a $70,000 grant by the U.S. Forest Service’s Wood Education and Resource Center (WERC). The planned project will promote energy cost savings and environmental improvement of commercial buildings by educating building architects and biomass appliance manufacturers on wood energy.

Project partners BTEC and RPG will facilitate several meetings to bring together heating and cooling (HVAC) design experts with biomass energy equipment manufacturers to address concerns that have long delayed broader market penetration of biomass energy in the United States. The project leverages findings of a 2010 WERC-funded survey, “Report of Key Findings: Architects and Energy Professionals – The Missing Link in Wood Energy”. According to the study, 80% of responding HVAC designers saw wood energy as a tool to advance America’s environmental, economic, and energy efficiency goals if their concerns about emissions, resource protection, system reliability and operational convenience can be satisfied.

“We are grateful for letters of support from leaders of more than 15 industry, environmental, and educational organizations for this proposal,” said Joseph Seymour, BTEC Executive Director. “Those executives,” he added, “recognize that this work supports jobs that are vitally needed to wisely manage forest resources, reduce wildfire risk, and increase the market of clean burning, high-efficient biomass combustion equipment”.

John Karakash, a registered forester and energy consultant with RPG added, “As biomass energy grows, employment will expand in conservation and clean energy to convert low grade timber into renewable fuel. The end result will be lower cost to taxpayers for energy and for resource protection, greater independence from foreign energy sources, and reduced fossil carbon emissions.”

BTEC Commends New Energy, Efficiency Act of 2010

Web Editor — Mon, 26 Jul 2010 19:35:02 +0000

The Biomass Thermal Energy Council (BTEC) extends its praise to Sens. Al Franken (D-MN) and Kit Bond (R-MO) and Reps. Betty McCollum (D-MN), Jay Inslee (D-WA) and Paul Tonko (D-NY) for introducing the Thermal Renewable Energy and Efficiency Act of 2010 in the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives (S. 3626 and H.R. 5805, respectively). The legislation would assist in developing renewable heating and cooling projects nationwide.

“Expanding our use of renewable thermal energy, exemplified by the model district energy system we have in St. Paul, is one way to provide low, stable heating and cooling prices to consumers, dramatically increase our country’s energy efficiency and speed up our transition away from coal and fossil fuels that cause global climate change,” said Sen. Franken in a joint press release with Rep. Betty McCollum.

Nearly one third of U.S. energy consumption is for thermal needs such as building heating and cooling and industrial processes. The Thermal Renewable Energy and Efficiency Act would create a package of financial incentives to support implementation of large scale efficient, renewably-fueled heating and cooling systems. These provisions include improved bonding options for district heating infrastructure, increased project grant funding, and expanding the Production Tax Credit (PTC) to include renewable heating and cooling (Btu to kWh equivalent).

“The bill recognizes and supports clean, efficient sources of thermal energy, in addition to establishing parity with other renewable energy sources like transportation fuels and electricity,” said BTEC Deputy Director Kyle Gibeault. “We are pleased to see members of Congress putting forth legislation that will accelerate America’s shift towards renewable sources of thermal energy.

Plum Creek Joins BTEC

Web Editor — Wed, 07 Apr 2010 21:15:38 +0000

Plum Creek, the largest and most geographically diverse private landowner in the U.S., has joined the Biomass Thermal Energy Council (BTEC) as a Sustaining Member.

Plum Creek manages approximately 7 million acres of timberlands in major timber producing regions and wood products manufacturing facilities in the Northwest. The company serves traditional forest product markets as well as emerging energy markets for biomass. A longstanding practitioner of sustainable forestry, Plum Creek was in 1999 the first company to have all of its lands certified to Sustainable Forestry Initiative standards.

Mike Jostrom, Director of Renewable Resources at Plum Creek, will be joining the BTEC Board of Directors.

The Biomass Thermal Energy Council (BTEC) is a non-profit association dedicated to advancing the use of biomass for heat and other thermal energy applications. BTEC is an association of biomass fuel producers, appliance manufacturers and distributors, supply chain companies and non-profit organizations that view biomass thermal energy as a renewable, responsible, clean and energy-efficient pathway to meeting America’s energy needs.