Industry concerns as EPA prepares NSPS filing

Under a court-approved consent decree resolving lawsuits brought by a coalition of 10 states, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is required to complete its review of the New Source Performance Standards (NSPS) for residential wood heaters by December 15, 2026.

The Alliance for Green Heat strives to be a news source that covers the interests of all stakeholders around EPA regulations, and we assembled a list of issues, with the assistance of AI, that we think industry is concerned about.  Under the Trump administration, some stakeholders are worried that the EPA may be considering rolling back key wood heater regulations.  While there are some extreme voices in the wood heater industry, in our experience the main industry association, the Hearth, Patio & Barbecue Association (HPBA, has often tried to temper those extreme voices. 

The list of priorities below does not represent HBPA's official positions, nor the positions of AGH or any other entity.  It is intended to be a summary of priorities that we have heard from a wide variety of industry sources over recent years. Please leave comments below if you agree or disagree with these priorities.

1.     Eliminate or substantially change the 5-year certification expiration. Possibly the clearest specific regulatory ask of industry.
2.     Influence the new cordwood test method. Make it realistic, reproducible, technology-neutral and not excessively prescriptive.
3.     Prevent emission limits from being set before the test method is settled. A long-standing HPBA concern.
4.     Move away from weaknesses of the current g/hr/crib-wood regime. Avoid “designing to the test” and artifacts such as the long-tail effect.
5.     Preserve flexibility among technologies. Avoid a test or standard that inherently favors catalytic, non-catalytic, pellet, or particular firebox designs.
6.     Reduce EPA certification bureaucracy/backlog. Faster new certifications and renewals, potentially greater reliance on third-party certification.
7.     Preserve some form of sell-through/transition protection. Particularly for already-certified appliances when rules change.
8.     Keep the new rule evolutionary rather than revolutionary. HPBA repeatedly uses the idea of a “scalpel rather than a hatchet”	.
9.     Make testing reflect actual household operation. But industry does not simply endorse the states' Integrated Duty Cycle (IDC) methodology as-is.
10.  Keep certification/testing costs manageable. Particularly important for smaller manufacturers and less popular models.

Funding for Firewood Banks Available as Winter Approaches

October 8 2026 — With winter approaching, the Alliance for Green Heat is seeking proposals from firewood banks across the country to expand their capacity to provide free firewood to families struggling to heat their homes.

AGH received $1.7 million in additional Infrastructure Assistance and Jobs Act (IIJA) funding through the U.S. Forest Service to extend its firewood bank grant program, which supports firewood banks in rural and tribal communities. The grants will help firewood banks purchase equipment such as chainsaws, firewood splitters and protective gear, to help communities put low-grade wood removed through forest management on federal and other lands to productive use heating homes.

“Firewood is a local, affordable and renewable fuel that is vital for many rural and tribal communities,” said John Ackerly, president of the Alliance for Green Heat. “Firewood banks can turn a local forest resource into heat, instead of using fuels from thousands of miles away.”

Firewood banks operate much like food banks—except that instead of providing food, they provide free firewood to households that cannot afford to heat their homes. Volunteers collect, process, season and distribute firewood, often using wood that might otherwise not be used.

At least 225 firewood banks operate in the United States. All existing firewood banks are eligible to apply.

The U.S. Energy Information Administration estimates that approximately 11 million U.S. households use firewood for primary or secondary heating. Firewood remains an important affordable heating fuel in rural America, where households can often obtain wood locally at little or no cost. (Note: See average heating costs by fuel type here https://www.maine.gov/energy/heating-fuel-prices)

Access to free wood is only part of the challenge. Many households rely on older wood stoves that are not EPA-certified, and many stoves are self-installed and do not meet applicable safety or building codes. 

AGH requires firewood banks receiving the new grants to properly season their wood unless exceptional circumstances prevent doing so. AGH also encourages banks to help their recipients get stove and chimney inspections through venders and local fire departments.

“Our grants help firewood banks provide not just wood, but better wood,” said Ackerly. “Properly seasoned firewood reduces smoke and creosote build-up while educating families  about indoor air quality and safe stove operation helps families burn wood more safely and efficiently.”

More information about the Alliance for Green Heat’s Firewood Bank Assistance Program, including eligibility requirements and application instructions, will be available at firewoodbanks.org in late October. Applications will open November 1, 2026. An info session will be held on October 28th at 2 PM (ET), register here.

Vermont’s Wood Heat Success Offers Maryland a Path to Lower Heating Costs and Less Fossil Fuel Use

New educational video showcases how schools, businesses and public institutions are using wood
pellets and wood chips to replace expensive fossil fuels

MARYLAND — October 6, 2026 — As Maryland institutions face rising and volatile heating costs, a new 9-minute video offers a look at an underused local energy resource that could help keep heating dollars in Maryland: wood.

The Maryland Clean Energy Center (MCEC), in partnership with the Alliance for Green Heat and with funding from the Rural Maryland Council and the U.S. Forest Service, has released a new educational video showcasing how communities in Vermont and New Hampshire are using wood pellets and wood chips to heat schools, businesses and other large buildings—and, in some cases, generate electricity.

The video documents a working wood-energy economy that is already helping New England institutions replace fossil fuels, control heating costs and keep energy dollars in local communities.

“The opportunity for heating with wood in Maryland is huge,” said Dan Rider, supervisor of the Maryland Department of Natural Resources Forest Utilization Program. “Every year, we quite literally throw away over a million tons of wood, already perfectly produced to be used as fuel.”

The Vermont and New Hampshire facilities featured in the video demonstrate what can happen when there is a market for low-grade wood and forest residues. Rather than relying entirely on heating oil, propane or natural gas, institutions can use locally sourced wood chips and pellets to produce reliable heat while supporting local forestry businesses.

For Maryland, the opportunity may be particularly significant in Western Maryland, where the decline of the paper industry has eliminated an important market for low-grade forest material.

A stronger market for low-grade wood can also benefit forest management. Material that has little or no value in traditional timber markets can be removed during forest management operations and used for fuel rather than being left in the woods, piled and burned, or allowed to decay.

Creating demand for this material gives landowners and loggers an economic incentive to put low-value wood to productive use while creating another source of renewable, locally produced heat.

A 9-minute look at a different energy economy

The new video takes viewers inside several Vermont and New Hampshire facilities to see how wood-energy systems actually work and why communities have invested in them.

The examples offer a timely question for Maryland: If New England institutions can use locally available wood to reduce their reliance on volatile fossil-fuel markets, why can't Maryland do more of the same?

The video is particularly relevant as heating costs remain a major concern for schools, municipalities, businesses and other institutions facing another winter of uncertain energy prices.

Watch the video

The 9-minute educational video is available at www.mdcleanenergy.org/programs/advanced-wood-heat.

Organizations interested in learning how advanced wood heating could work for Maryland schools, businesses and institutions can also contact the Maryland Clean Energy Center’s Wood Energy Coordinator,

Thanks to Maya Ross, Maryland Clean Energy Center, Katharine Servidio, VT Forest Economy Program Manager, Molly Willard, VT Wood Energy and Forest Products Specialist, Rachael Masculino, Efficiency Vermont/ VEIC, Beth Hill, Maryland Forests Association, Dan Rider, Maryland Forest Service and the entire film crew.

About the Maryland Clean Energy Center

The Maryland Clean Energy Center advances a clean energy future by making affordable, accessible technologies available to all Marylanders. Through innovative financing, climate tech innovation, and project development support, we empower communities, foster business growth, and create jobs.

About the Alliance for Green Heat

The Alliance for Green Heat promotes modern wood and pellet heating systems as a low-carbon, sustainable and affordable energy solution. The Alliance works to advance cleaner and more efficient residential heating technology, particularly for low and middle-income families. Founded in Maryland in 2009, the Alliance is an independent non-profit organization