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| An Idyllic Vermont Winter (Notice the wood fires):http://www.eia.gov/dnav/pet/hist_chart/W_EPLLPA_PRS_SVT_DPGw.jpg |
This winter has seen an
unprecedented rise in heating costs in Vermont, and a huge propane shortage. “Increased exports have
played a roll, but other factors such as the massive demand for propane to dry
crops after a very wet season in the Midwest and supply chain problems created
the large shortage in the northeast”, says Matt Cota, the executive director of
the Vermont Fuel Dealer’s Association. Affordable
and reliable heating is a necessity in this state, especially during a winter
of polar vortexes. A new initiative calls for collaboration with the Upper Austrian State to promote biomass
heating technology. Biomass heating is a growing and diversifying field that
may revolutionize Vermont’s heating portfolio.
Could this new collaboration spell the end of unstable heating supplies?
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| Propane Price Spike: http://www.eia.gov/dnav/pet/hist_chart/W_EPLLPA_PRS_SVT_DPGw.jpg |
Biomass is a broad term for various
forms of biological matter used for a fuel source. Standard cord wood for wood-stoves, dried or
green wood chips, condensed waste-wood pellets, field crop residues, animal
waste and several other forms all fall into this category. Biomass is incinerated in a variety of ways
including traditional wood-stoves and more modern high efficiency boilers. Understand that this new
initiative focuses on biomass use for individual to community scale heating projects, and not for large scale electricity generation, which both the
advocates and the opposition agree is a terrible idea. “Burning biomass for electricity production
is horribly inefficient and would quickly destroy Vermont’s forests”, stated
Gaelan Brown, co-founder of the Compost Power Network and business developer at Agrilab Technologies.
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| Concentrated Biomass Pellets: http://www.rhc-platform.org/fileadmin/user_upload/Structure/Biomass/Picture/wood_pellets_EREC.jpg |
This new collaboration
initiative aims to follow the stellar example that the Upper Austrian State has
set in the field of biomass technology.
The climate and vegetation of Upper Austria is strikingly similar to
that of our beloved Green Mountain State.
“It was on a train ride from Salzburg to Linz, looking at the scenery that
the sister-state agreement idea took form”, Adam Sherman, a consultant at the Biomass Energy Resource Center commented about the origins of the program. Austria’s community scale combined heat and
energy biomass facilities have thus far been a massive success in reducing
heating fuel use, and they have a strict goal of 90% renewable heating by 2050. The collaboration is currently scheduled to
last for 5 years, with a good chance of continued partnership.
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| The Upper Austrian Countryside. Could be Vermont if not for the architecture: |
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/ff/Ischl,_Upper_Austria,_Austria-Hungary,_1890s.jpg
The program is currently in a
fledgling stage, with inadequate funding and political backing to create new
policies thus far. Progress is being made
in spite of this. Delegates have
traveled from Vermont to Austria on several occasions to attend conferences and
report their findings back to Governor Shumlin.
People like Adam Sherman have also been working with members of the
Austrian Embassy in Washington. He is
confident that an agreement to “…share regulation policy, best technologies,
and market research” can be negotiated for mutual benefit in the two
states. The free flow of ideas and information means that the costs of this program are minimal, and the potential benefits are massive.
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| Austria's Impressive Progress So-Far: http://www.esv.or.at/typo3temp/pics/Hackschnitzel_Pelletsheiz_2013_engl_7fa5a4e527.jpg |
How plausible is all this really
for Vermont? The answer is quite a bit
more than one would assume, having grown up in our fossil fueled society. The northeastern United States is the largest
consumer of heating oil by proportion of heating fuels used. Vermont itself uses about 186 million gallons
of this fuel per year. Gaelan asserted
that in Vermont “We have 18 acres of forest per household, and average acre of
forest can yield ½ to 1 cord of firewood per year without the forest mass
shrinking”. Adam was able to further
contextualize this, saying that “…using high efficiency technology, sustainable
green harvest could go 26% towards offsetting heating oil, and with solar hot
water etc., it can be eliminated”.
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| US Heating Fuel Use: http://insideclimatenews.org/sites/default/files/images/mappropane.png |
New technologies are also in
existence that entirely eliminate the incineration step of the biomass heating
process. Compost heat recovery, though
labor intensive, could be another viable option that would further reduce
environmental impact. If you have ever
dug into a heap of mulch or compost you have probably noticed that the center
steams and is very hot to the touch. This
latent heat energy can be harvested directly for warming buildings or heating
water. Gaelan Brown is an expert in this
field and assures that even on a large scale this technology can be “…entirely
viable and cost effective if approached properly”. This method no only generates heat energy,
but also yields valuable compost when the cycle is done, all while avoiding the
combustion process which has been concerning to some.
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| Interior Structure of a Compost Heat Recovery System |
A sizeable contingent of Vermonters has questions about the implications of increasing the emphasis on
biomass. Josh Schlossberg, a coordinator
of biomass opponents for The Energy Justice Network, pointed negatives of the
program including the destruction of more carbon sequestering biological matter
and associated health risks. “Vermont
has some of the highest levels of asthma in the US… the Vermont Dept. of Health have concerns about increasing the burning of wood in Vermont, especially at
hospitals and schools with vulnerable populations” he stated. Particulate matter has been problematic for
traditional woodstoves and single boilers.
The Austrians however, have developed much more efficient community hot
water systems which greatly reduce air quality impact below traditional
levels. Everyone seems to be in
agreement that biomass should never be used solely for energy production. With smart policies, technology sharing, and
transparency of information the collaboration can be beneficial to all
Vermonters.
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| Another Concern Some Residents Have: http://holyrood.waracle.net/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/portfolio-environment-size-matters-1-242x300.png |
After the winter we have just
weathered, many residents will be happy to know that a reliable and domestic
heating fuel source is on the way.
Parents and the elderly especially should not have to worry about their
fuel running dry in the bitter clutches of winter. Biomass heating is certainly not a panacea
for the impending energy crisis, but this collaboration with Upper Austria denotes
a moderate step towards a sustainable future for the Green Mountain State. Adam Sherman in closing also remarked that
this program promises to bolster local economies as well, with “…benefits for
loggers, truckers, landowners, and forest managers”. Job creation and protection; not a bad
bonus. Contact your local government
representatives or the Vermont Energy Investment Corporation if you are
interested in further information.
August Koch
April 21st 2014
Bibliography
Brown, G. Internet Chat Interview. 10 Mar 2014.
Cassidy, Maggie. "Twin States see Propane Price Spike."Valley News. 25 Jan 2014: n. page. Web. 21 Apr. 2014. <http://www.vnews.com/news/10364955-95/twin-states-see-propane-price-spike>.
Ciolkosz, D. (2010). An introduction to biomass
heating. Penn State Biomass Energy Center, Penn State University, .
Retrieved from http://www.bioenergy.psu.edu/pdf_files/Fact Sheet IntroBiomassHeat.pdf
Cota, M. Telephone Interview. 30 Mar 2014.
Douglass, E. (2014, March 10). U.s. propane shortage
provides lessons for debate over oil and gas exports. Retrieved from
http://insideclimatenews.org/news/20140310/us-propane-shortage-provides-lessons-debate-over-oil-and-gas-exports
Miller, Lawrence. "Vermont and Upper Austria Create
Partnership to Promote Biomass Heating." VT Digger. 28 Oct 2014: n. page.
Web. 21 Apr. 2014.
<http://vtdigger.org/2013/10/28/vermont-upper-austria-create-partnership-promote-biomass-heating/>.
Schlossberg, J. Internet Chat Interview. 11 Mar 2014.
Sherman, A. Telephone Interview. 17 Apr 2014.
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