February 12, 2016

In this Week's Pellet Wire:


Next Wednesday - Join the PFI Standards Program Webinar

PFI invites you to join us for a webinar on the PFI Standards Program on Wednesday, February 17, at 1pm EST/10am PST.

A panel of speakers will discuss the EPA's requirements for pellet fuels and appliance manufacturers. Additionally, pellet fuel and stove retailers will learn how to identify the Quality Mark, which signifies a product from a company qualified by the Standards Program, as well as how to answer customers' questions about graded fuel.

Pellet fuels manufacturers will hear about the many benefits of joining the Standards Program, from improving fuel consistency to cutting costs. Speakers will also discuss recent changes to the program, among them a reduction in testing frequency requirements.

The EPA's New Source Performance Standards, finalized last year, require stove manufacturers to test and certify stoves using fuel from one of three graded fuel programs, including the PFI Standards Program. The webinar will address many of those new requirements.

Webinar speakers include John Shimek, SVP of Product Development for Hearth & Home Technologies; John Crouch, Director of Public Affairs for Hearth Patio and Barbecue Association; Chris Wiberg, Lab Director, Timber Products Inspection; and Jennifer Hedrick, Executive Director, Pellet Fuels Institute. 

The webinar is open to all in the pellet fuels industry, including pellet fuels manufacturers, retailers and appliance manufacturers. To register for the program, please visit PFI's website. Please encourage your contacts to sign up as well. 

REGISTER NOW!


 


HPBExpo in New Orleans, LA, March 17-19: Register for Breakfast & Biomass

PFI welcomes all attending the Hearth, Patio and Barbecue Expo in New Orleans, LA, held March 17-19, to join us for our annual event, Breakfast & Biomass: A Briefing on the Pellet Market.

The event includes a full breakfast, networking opportunities, and discussion of the latest trends and issues of importance to all involved in the industry. Breakfast & Biomass will be held on Friday, March 18, 2016 at 7:30am in the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center. To view the agenda and to learn more about registration for the $35 breakfast, please visit PFI's website.

If you are planning to attend Expo, hotel accommodations can be made on the Expo website


 



Obama's Clean-Power Plan Put on Hold by U.S. Supreme Court

A divided U.S. Supreme Court blocked President Barack Obama's sweeping plan to cut emissions from power plants, putting on hold his most ambitious effort to combat climate change.

The 5-4 order Tuesday halts the Environmental Protection Agencys Clean Power Plan until at least the final months of Obama's presidency -- and casts doubt on its ultimate fate before the nation's highest court by suggesting concern among a majority of the justices. 

Utilities, coal miners and more than two dozen states say the agency had overstepped its authority and intruded on states' rights.

Read the full story at Bloomberg News


 


Upcoming Industry Events

February 24-26, 2016 : World Sustainable Energy Days 2016

March 18, 2016
: Breakfast & Biomass

March 30-April 1, 2016
: Northeast Biomass Heating Expo

April 5-7, 2016
: Argus Biomass 2016

April 11-14, 2016
: International Biomass Conference & Expo 2016

June 6-9, 2016
: European Biomass Conference & Exhibition

June 15-17, 2016
: International Bioenergy Conference

July 24-26, 2016
: PFI Annual Conference

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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

Biomass, biogas and waste-to-energy added 224MW last year
Biomass Magazine
Bloomberg New Energy Finance and the Business Council for Sustainable Energy have released the fourth annual Sustainable Energy in America Factbook, which shows renewable energy comprised 20 percent of the U.S. power fleet last year, reaching 222 GW of installed capacity. Since 2008, installed capacity has increased 57 percent.

Read the Full Article


Letter: Wood pellet boiler makes sense
Massachusetts Recorder
A few people have concerns about the proposal to replace the Mohawk Trail Regional Schools propane powered boiler with a wood pellet boiler. Some speculate that asthma rates may increase because of additional particulate pollution. However, modern wood boilers are very efficient and are well within strict EPA standards.

Read the Full Article


Power producers scouring forests as burning wood gets big
Bloomberg Japan
With almost 70 percent of its land covered by forests, Japan is leading a drive to return to wood as a source of cleaner energy.

While projects in the U.K. and the U.S. are experimenting with biomass, Japan is giving favorable tariffs to power producers who burn leftover wood as a way to cut the countrys dependence on imported fossil fuels. 

Read the Full Article


Drax Biomass promotes options for renewable power
Louisiana News Star
Drax Biomass, with facilities in the Port of Greater Baton Rouge, Amite and most recently, Bastrop, has a goal in 2016 to show the rest of the United States the benefits of using wood pellets for renewable low-carbon power generation.

Last year Bastrop was recognized by Site Selection Magazine as a top micropolitan for Drax Biomass' $120 million project that created more than 50 new direct jobs.

Read the Full Article



 


 

Pellet Fuels Institute |  [email protected]   | 703.522.6778