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In This Week's Pellet Wire:
Hitting the Road
Thanks to all who made it to the International Biomass Conference & Expo this week in Atlanta! We had a great showing by Pellet Fuels Institute members and prospective members.
Anyone planning to attend Heating the Midwest in Carlton, Minnesota, the first week of May? Heating the Midwest is a regionally focused gathering of biomass heating in the region. The Pellet Fuels Institute is a proud co-host of the event and I'll be talking during the conference's first morning. Let me know if you plan to be there.
- Tim Portz, Executive Director
Know Anyone Interested in Running for the PFI Board of Directors?
The PFI Board of Directors Nominating Committee is looking for nominations for the 2018-2019 PFI Board of Directors. The Board will welcome new members to fill several open seats at its meeting in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, coinciding with the Annual Conference.
All PFI members are encouraged to submit names to the Nominating Committee of people you'd like to see leading PFI. Please send nominations to [email protected] by April 27 for names to be considered.
Only 10 Weeks Till the PFI Annual Conference in Myrtle Beach! Register by April 30 to Get the Early Bird Rate!
It’s not too early to register for the PFI Annual Conference taking place in Myrtle Beach, June 24-26! The conference is earlier in the summer than in years past, and hotel rooms are already more than half reserved, so don’t let it sneak up on you.
The PFI Annual Conference highlights the various applications of densified biomass, as well as trends and best practices within the densified biomass industry. It attracts a broad range of individuals from the public and private sectors; academia; and local, state, and national governments from North America and beyond. The conference features two days of educational sessions as well as industry exhibits, extensive networking opportunities, and a golf tournament. The golf tournament is a great way to experience some friendly competition with your friends and colleagues in the industry while playing on a top-notch course.
The agenda, previewed by Tim Portz in Nashville and here in Pellet Wire, is shaping up nicely. See the panels and information sessions we have in store on the PFI website.
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We're building a collection of photos of our members, their pellet mills and product. Send them to Carrie Annand at [email protected]. This week's featured photo is Tim Portz (third from right) representing PFI during the general session at the BBI International Biomass Conference and Expo this week.
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Become a 2018 PFI Sponsor in April
Don't miss the opportunity to sponsor PFI early in 2018! Sponsorship at all levels brings many perks, along with exposure for your company to the pellet fuels industry. By signing up to sponsor the association early in 2018, you will reap the benefits throughout the coming year.
The 2018 sponsorship packages include benefits such as:
- PFI Annual Conference registrations
- Company logo listed on the PFI website
- 10x10 booth at the PFI Annual Conference
- Weekly newsletter advertising
- Website advertising
- And more!
PFI's membership list includes more than 100 companies, and the Pellet Wire, our electronic newsletter, is sent to close to 2,000 subscribers every week. Now is the time to become a sponsor of this organization. Visit our website to explore how you can become involved.
We Need Your Input for PFI's 2018 Events
Are there any topics that you'd like to see addressed at PFI's Annual Conference in June? We'd like to hear from you. Nominate speakers, suggest panels, experts, themes and ideas. The Conference Committee wants to be sure to reflect the preferences and needs of PFI membership as much as possible.
Be sure to check our updated online calendar with information on many events happening during 2018. Most important, mark your calendars for next year's PFI events!
If our calendar is missing any events that you're planning to attend, please send an email to Carrie.
Follow PFI on Twitter, Friend Us on Facebook, and Connect with Us on LinkedIn
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:
- Follow us on LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook!
- Encourage your colleagues and other business associates to follow us.
- Send Carrie Annand news or other ideas to post on LinkedIn.
Do You 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 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
May 1, 2018: Heating the Midwest
June 24 - 26, 2018: PFI Annual Conference
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Connect with PFI
PelletHeat.org
Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Join PFI
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
House Committee Passes 2018 Farm Bill
Biomass Magazine
On April 18, the House Agriculture Committee held a markup hearing and passed its version of the 2018 Farm Bill, officially titled the Agriculture and Nutrition Act of 2018, or H.R. 2. The vote was along party lines, with committee Republicans voting in favor of the bill and committee Democrats voting in opposition. The bill will now be considered by the House.
In a statement, House Ranking Member Collin Peterson, D-Minn., criticized the legislation, calling it "a flawed bill that is the result of a bad nontransparent process." Cuts to Energy Title programs are among the specific provisions of the bill that Peterson criticized. "...$500 million from the Rural Energy for America Program was eliminated as well as killing the energy title," he said in a statement.
A draft of the 2018 Farm Bill was first released April 12. The bill reauthorizes several bioenergy and biofuel programs, but provides them with only discretionary funding.
A summary of the bill released by the committee on April 18 shows Subtitle E of the legislation includes reauthorizations and discretionary funding for several Energy Title programs.
Read Full Article
How Green Is Biomass Energy? Science Café NH Will Discuss It.
Concord Monitor
Here's a no-brainer: Burning wood for electricity is better than burning fossil fuels from an environmental point of view.
Except that it's actually a ... um, whatever the opposite of "no-brainer" might be. (Yes-brainer? More-brainer? No-kneejerkresponder?)
In this era of climate change, the argument for using wood as fuel is simple: The tree will die eventually and release its carbon, so it's no big deal to release the carbon early via burning. You can't say that of coal, oil or natural gas, which would never release their carbon if humans didn't interfere.
The argument is doubly strong if you plant new trees after cutting other trees down, since the seedlings will take back the released carbon as they grow.
But that's not the whole story, as it turns out. In the past decade, there has been a lot of research into this question, and the consensus seems to be forming that:
Cutting trees in a well-established wood releases more carbon than we had realized because of disruption to the carbon-containing soil and undergrowth.
The difference in energy density between wood and fossil fuels - it takes a lot more wood to generate a given amount of energy that it does coal, oil or natural gas - can tip the scales.
The carbon benefits of using wood-versus-coal occur over the time scale of tree generations, roughly 30 years, and that might be too long to be useful in the fight against climate change, which is accelerating faster than almost anybody predicted.
Read Full Article
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