PFI's Weekly Newsletter

 

 

September 1, 2017

In this Week's Pellet Wire:


PFI Seeks Executive Director - Know Anyone Good?  

We are pleased to announce that Pellet Fuels Institute has opened a search for an Executive Director!

The Pellet Fuels Institute Executive Director Reports to the PFI Board of Directors to fulfill the association's mission. The ED is the key staff member and responsible for communicating effectively with the Board and providing, in a timely and accurate manner, all information necessary for the Board to function properly and to make informed decisions. The ED oversees PFI's fiscal management and oversees the PFI staff, anticipates operating within the approved budget, ensures maximum resource utilization, and maintenance of the organization in a positive financial position. The ED will also work with the PFI Board of Directors, Committees and staff to ensure that the mission is fulfilled through membership, programs, strategic planning and community outreach. The ED is expected to have good written and oral communication skills as well as strong public speaking ability. Other specific job duties follow.

We welcome all references. Please see the full listing here, and direct any prospective applicants to send a cover letter and resume to [email protected] with "PFI ED Job" in the subject line. PFI will consider less than full-time for the right candidate.


Laidig: Experts in Biomass Material Handling Solutions

Laidig specializes in custom-engineered material handling systems that store and reclaim materials with special handling requirements, especially those that require exceptionally rugged and extreme-duty equipment. As a result of the decades of pioneering innovations with bottom-reclaim systems, Laidig is recognized world-wide as an industry leader in this highly-specialized field. Laidig has developed a wide range of storage and reclaim systems that can be tailored to an entire spectrum of application requirements. 

Please visit PFI's website to learn more. 


Massachusetts WWLP - 22News: Demand for Wood Pellets Starting Early at Hardwood Stores SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (WWLP) - It's still summer, but people are already preparing for the winter heating season.Right next to the grills at Rocky's Ace Hardware in Springfield, you'll find wood pellets and ice melt for sale. After a couple of cool nights, Rocky's told 22News that customers have been asking for wood pellets.The price of pellets will only go higher from here. Rocky's assistant manager Mitch Johnson told 22News, "We have some customers call in for these, and we also have customers come in see the wood pellets and then want to jump on the sale now."Rocky's Ace Hardware advises customers that now is a good time to stock up on wood pellets and ice melt. They become harder to find once winter starts.To view the video version of this news story, please visit WWLP.
Send Us Your Pellet Production Photos!

 
 Lowes in Federal Way, WA is ready for the pellet heating season. This store is even offering free local delivery!

We want to see photos of what's happening with the pellet fuels industry in your neck of the woods. Send us photos with captions - facilities, retailers, production, appliances, happy customers! We'll run the photos in Pellet Wire.
Follow PFI on Facebook and Connect with us on LinkedIn! 

This week, PFI updated its LinkedIn page. We'd like to connect and interact with PFI members and anyone else involved in pellet fuels production! 

Here's how you can help us build our online community:

  1. Follow us on Facebook and LinkedIn!
  2. Encourage your colleagues and other business associates to follow us.
  3. Send Carrie Annand news or other ideas to post on LinkedIn.

Host an Elected Official at Your Facility for Bioenergy Day - Oct. 18

Wednesday, October 18, marks the day for the Fifth Annual Bioenergy Day. Consider inviting an elected official to tour your facility on Bioenergy Day. Whether it's your town's mayor, a state official, a member of Congress, Senator or Governor, Bioenergy Day is the perfect opportunity to introduce government officials to the pellet industry and its many environmental and economic benefits. bioenergy.

This year, we are highlighting the economic benefits of bioenergy. The presence of bioenergy in a community creates jobs, enhances revenue and forest products markets, and reduces waste. Our video on bioenergy, forest products and forestry in Northwestern Montana will illustrate how manufacturers convert leftover fuels into energy. 

There are many ways to contribute to Bioenergy Day 2017. We've uploaded our Participation Guide on the site to help you brainstorm the ways to mark Bioenergy Day, with some best practices and sample materials. You can also look around our website, www.bioenergyday.org, to see how other groups have approached Bioenergy Day. 

Contact Carrie Annand with any questions on Bioenergy Day 2017 or to register your organization's event. 


Have News to Share on Pellet Wire?

We'd love to feature your company's news in a future Pellet Wire! We want to be the first to know your company's recent developments to share them with the wider pellet fuels industry.

Please be in touch with Carrie Annand at [email protected] with information on your company's growth, job openings, promotions or other news. 


Join a PFI Committee

We welcome and encourage all interested PFI members to get involved in our committees. There are many opportunities to help steer the association. No matter where your expertise and interests lie, we have a committee that will suit you. Help us plan our next conference, shape our policy agenda, lead communications outreach or grow the PFI Standards Program. Visit PFI's website for more information. 



Upcoming Industry Events

September 19-21, 2017: 2017 International Conference on Thermochemical Conversion

March 9th 2018: 2018 PFI Breakfast & Biomass

June 16-21, 2018: Resources for Future Generations (RFG) 2018

June 24-26, 2018: 2018 Pellet Fuels Institute Annual Conference 

Connect with PFI

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Fuel Availability

Are you a PFI member pellet manufacturer or distributor that has fuel available? Email [email protected] to have your listing updated or added to the PFI website.


Industry News

Science Advisors Punt yet Again on Biomass Guidance   
Greenwire 

The fight over a wonky but high-stakes report about how U.S. EPA accounts for biomass's greenhouse gas emissions continues.

A panel of EPA's science advisers convened yesterday in Arlington, Va., to hash out whether the members of the 47-member Science Advisory Board (SAB) could reach a consensus on a long-awaited report to offer regulators guidance about how to account for carbon emissions from the burning of bioenergy. Their task: to close the gap between diametrically different and strongly held views on how emissions from the burning of forest trimmings and agricultural waste products like manure and sugar cane should be measured.

Things got heated.

Some members of the advisory panel say the report, which has been in the works since 2011, should be scrapped, an "unprecedented" option.

Read Full Article


A Public Fund That Keeps on Giving
The Sun, Vermont

Many arguments exist for promoting wood as a heating fuel source: It's a renewable resource that eases our dependence on fossil fuels. It provides Massachusetts loggers and landowners with a steady source of income and reduces American reliance on foreign oil supplies.

But there's also this inconvenient truth: Massachusetts has more air pollution from wood combustion than any other New England state, according to a Pelham environmental group's analysis of federal data.

That fact, along with the knowledge that burning wood speeds climate change, should give Massachusetts officials pause as they prepare to add boilers fueled by "woody biomass" - wood chips or pellets - to the list of alternative energy sources eligible for government subsidies.

Read Full Article


Ashland's Northeast Pellets Suffers Catastrophic Fire
Mainebiz

A fire at Northeast Pellets mill in Ashland destroyed all of the 500 tons of bulk pellets stored in two silos.

The Fiddlehead Focus reported it was the second catastrophic fire suffered by the plant since it opened in 2006. Chief Don Bouley of the Ashland Fire Department told the paper the cause is under investigation.

"With this type of industry, you get a lot of fine-powdered dust, and that's not good," Bouley said.

Owner Matt Bell, who started Northeast Pellets as the state's first pellet manufacturer, said he planned to rebuild. The plant employs 11. The company still has 2,500 tons of bagged pellets in inventory. Northeast Pellets sells direct to consumers from the mill, at more than 20 retailers in Maine and four stores in Massachusetts and New Hampshire, as well as in bulk to large customers such as the University of Maine at Fort Kent, which operates a biomass boiler with the local school district.

Read Full Article 


Happy Labor Day Weekend from PFI!

Pellet Fuels Institute |  [email protected]   | 206.209.5277