Minnesota has a new statewide team for supporting high efficiency wood energy systems. The Minnesota Statewide Wood Energy Team includes diverse organizations and individuals with expertise to support effective use of wood energy technologies. With support from the USDA Forest Service, the team’s 2014 programs include making funds available to support businesses and other facilities that are interested in commercially available wood energy systems.
“Minnesota led the nation in 2007 with the development of sustainable woody biomass harvesting guidelines and we have invested in research at the University of Minnesota to ensure we balance new, renewable energy systems with natural resource protections,” said Anna Dirkswager, Biomass Coordinator for the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources and manager of the Statewide Wood Energy Team.
The team has been developed to help Minnesota facilities and businesses move toward realizing the opportunity to cut costs, support local economies, and advance clean energy development.
“Today’s wood energy technologies reduce energy costs while creating local jobs, mitigating wildfire risks, and providing renewable energy,” said Brian Brashaw, Program Director for the University of Minnesota Duluth, Natural Resources Research Institute and Statewide Wood Energy Team member.
The Minnesota Statewide Wood Energy Team is one of five being supported by the USDA Forest Service around the country. The goal of the Minnesota team is to support commercially available wood energy systems that can provide economic, social, and environmental benefits to Minnesota’s businesses and communities.
“We are gearing up to help 20 sites in 2014 with preliminary evaluations and to assist two of those sites with detailed engineering or final feasibility studies,” said Lissa Pawlisch, Director of the Clean Energy Resource Teams (CERTs) and member of the Statewide Wood Energy Team.
Details about the funding opportunities and application process are forthcoming. Eligibility requirements will include commercial applications of modern wood energy technologies and project development beyond the initial feasibility investigations. For further information, or to be added to the contact list to receive funding information when it becomes available, please contact Anna Dirkswager at 651-259-5253 or anna.dirkswager@state.mn.us. You can also learn more on the DNR’s website.
More about the Minnesota Statewide Wood Energy Team: The Minnesota Statewide Wood Energy Team consists of individuals and organizations that work together to advance woody biomass goals and recognize the need to promote woody biomass utilization as a strategy to accomplish: forest management, diversified markets for the existing forest products industry, forest wildfire risk reduction, economic development and localized wealth retention, and state renewable energy strategies. The core team includes representation from the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, University of Minnesota, University of Minnesota Duluth, Natural Resources Research Institute, and the USDA Forest Service Wood Education and Resource Center, the Clean Energy Resource Teams, Dovetail Partners, and the Headwaters and Arrowhead Regional Economic Development Commissions. Additional partners include the Minnesota Department of Commerce, Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development, Iron Range Resources and Rehabilitation Board, USDA Rural Development, Minnesota Forest Resources Council, Great Plains Institute, BioBusiness Alliance of Minnesota, FVB Energy, WoodMaster, Fond du Lac Band of Superior Chippewa, and the Agricultural Utilization and Research Institute. The project manager is Minnesota DNR Biomass Coordinator, Anna Dirkswager.
In other woody biomass news…
Despite the cold and frigid temperatures that are surrounding many of us this winter, things are really starting to heat up in the world of woody biomass (get it—heat up). Grab a cup of coffee and read on to learn about the latest and greatest in the exciting world of biomass.
- Congress passes the Farm Bill with good news for biomass. While the bill awaits signature from President Obama (who is expected to sign it into law soon), the bill’s energy title provides mandatory funding for the following programs that impact wood energy:
- Rural Energy for America Program (REAP): Provides resources to business owners to help finance the installation of renewable energy systems or upgrade existing systems, including those utilizing biomass. Mandatory funding of $50 million per year has been designated and the application process has been simplified and streamlined.
- Bioenergy Program for Advanced Biofuels: Provides direct payments to advanced biofuel producers, including those manufacturing pellets. Mandatory funding of $15 million per year has been designated.
- Biomass Crop Assistance Program (BCAP): Provides financial assistance to owners and operators of agricultural and non-industrial private forest land who wish to establish, produce, and deliver biomass feedstocks. This program was allotted $25 million in mandatory funds annually, and the collection, harvest, storage and transportation (CHST) payments will resume, with limitations.
- Community Wood Energy Program (CWEP): The program was altered to allow for grants of up to $50,000 to establish or to expand biomass consumer cooperatives to facilitate purchase of biomass heating systems or products (including their delivery and storage). This program was authorized at $5 million annually, though no mandatory funds were allotted.
- Heating the Midwest Conference just around the corner. This year’s Heating the Midwest Conference will be held April 29th- May 1st in Green Bay, WI. This event will bring together leaders of the wood and agricultural biomass industry that have expertise in supporting and expanding the use of biomass for heat and CHP, project development and policy developments related to wood energy. For more information, visit: http://heatingthemidwest.org/conferences/
- New Source Performance Standards for Residential Wood Heaters. Recently, the proposed New Source Performance Emissions Standards (NSPS) for Residential Wood Heaters was published in the Federal Register. A 90-day comment period has begun and will end on May 5, 2014. To view the draft regulations, visit: http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2014-02-03/html/2014-00409.htm
- Propane crisis highlights the benefits of energy from woody biomass. In Minnesota alone, 250,000 people depend on propane to heat their homes (http://www.agweek.com/event/article/id/22578/ ). The forecast for continued shortages and rising prices of this global fuel source are drawing attention to alternate and stable fuel sources in the form of woody biomass. Using woody biomass for energy in the form of pellets, green chips or cord wood can significantly reduce the impacts of propane supply shortages and price spikes currently felt by a majority of rural propane users residing in areas not served by natural gas. Increased usage of local, renewable woody fuel to reduce dependence on imported propane can help mitigate cots, secure fuel feedstock supplies, reduce the risk of wildfire, support forest management and enhance local economies. To learn more about the advantages of wood energy, consider perusing the Biomass Thermal Energy Council or Heating the Midwest webpages (http://www.biomassthermal.org/ and http://heatingthemidwest.org/ – respectively).
