Funding approved for wood heat tours from Maryland to NH & VT

September 7, 2022 

Program Contact: Maura Ross, Wood Energy Coordinator: 304-676-9224

Media Contact: Sabrina Bachman, Maryland Clean Energy Center: 301-314-6066

Alliance for Green Heat Contact: John Ackerly, The Alliance for Green Heat

 

Maryland Advances Biomass Wood Energy Solutions 

$25,000 awarded from the Maryland Agricultural Education & 

Rural Development Assistance Fund grant to conduct in-person, on-site education efforts

 

COLLEGE PARK, Md. –  Maryland continues to search for ways to develop and expand the state’s existing renewable energy portfolio. Thermal wood energy is beginning to gain traction and attention across the state as a sustainable option to traditional heating fuels such as propane and other fossil fuels. Despite the idea of thermal wood energy being widely known, the newer and advanced large-scale systems installed with efficient cleaning controls are typically not thought of when wood energy is mentioned.

To help show what these systems are and how they operate, as well as speak directly to facilities about their experience with a wood energy system, the Alliance for Green Heat and the Maryland Clean Energy Center have partnered together to organize and host educational tours to learn from other states as well as see where Maryland’s wood energy sector currently stands.

Maura Ross, project lead for
wood energy tours in NH & VT

The two tours funded through the Rural Maryland Council grant will take attendees to Vermont and New Hampshire. Attendees will include those who are interested in renewable energy and can make decisions on the future of wood energy in Maryland, such as policymakers, environmental groups, and facility managers who want to make the switch from fossil fuels to renewables as quickly as possible. 

Vermont and New Hampshire are seen as the country’s leaders regarding wood energy – heating not only homes, but schools, commercial facilities, an entire town’s public buildings, and even downtown sidewalks! They began the development of their wood energy sector almost twenty years ago and have continually seen the benefits of reducing their energy dependence on fossil fuels and the increasing health of their forests through sustainable management practices resulting from a strong logging sector.

“Tours to New Hampshire and Vermont will enable Maryland stakeholders to meet experts who run the systems and the building owners who pay for far cheaper heat," said John Ackerly, President of the Alliance for Green Heat.

This education-focused grant will also fund a case study, providing a detailed overview of one of the two tours. It will include information on the locations visited, the systems in place, the benefits of wood energy experienced, and the lessons learned from each facility. The information in the case study will help not only those who were unable to attend the tours but be a vital resource for decision makers and facility owners to reference when considering thermal wood energy.

“There are numerous misconceptions regarding wood energy since it not a common energy source anymore and confusion about the difference between sustainable forest management and overharvesting,” states Maura Ross, the wood energy coordinator at the Maryland Clean Energy Center, “but seeing is believing. If we can get those who are passionate about switching over to renewable energy on these tours where they see the environmental benefits themselves and speak with those who work with energy every day, I believe that the opinion of wood energy in the state will change.”

The tours will be hosted between early December and early April, with the case study released before June 2023.

The Educational Tour project is supported, in partnership, by the Alliance for Green Heat and the Maryland Clean Energy Center and funded by the Rural Maryland Council through the Maryland Agricultural Education and Rural Development Assistance Fund. This effort is also supported by the U.S. Forest Service, Maryland Department of Natural Resources, and the Maryland State Wood Energy Team.

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The Maryland Clean Energy Center (MCEC) was created in 2008 to encourage the transformation of the energy economy. MCEC works to implement financing solutions that catalyze the growth of business, create jobs, and make clean energy technologies, products and services affordable and accessible for Maryland consumers.

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.

 

 

Dec. 4 Webinar: Best Practices in Wood and Pellet Stove Programs

The University of Maryland Extension Woodland Stewardship Education program will host a one-hour webinar on Thursday, December 4th from 12:00 p.m. to 1:00 p.m. to provide an overview of the “best practices” in wood and pellet stove incentive programs across the United States. 

Sign up here.

As renewable energy programs grow around the country, more and more states are including incentives for wood or pellet boilers and stoves. Unlike other household appliances, such as refrigerators, furnaces or washing machines, wood heating equipment have no “Energy Star” labels for consumers to consult to make energy efficiency comparisons. Consequently, several states have devised a range of methods to determine the eligibility of cleaner and more efficient stoves and boilers.

This webinar will explore the features of these programs, and will use Maryland’s stove incentive program as an example of how one state met its goals for ensuring consumers purchase the most efficient appliances available. The speakers will identify what they see as emerging best practices in stove and boiler incentive programs as these initiatives become more mainstream.

This webinar features presentations from Jonathan Kays, University of Maryland Extension Natural Resource Extension Specialist; John Ackerly, President of the Alliance for Green Heat; and Emilee Van Norden, Clean Energy Program Manager of the Maryland Energy Administration.

The webinar is free and open to the public.  Sign up now to reserve a spot.

For related content: 

Pellet Stoves a Hot Commodity in Maryland Incentive Program

Federal Stove Tax Credit Not Likely to be Extended in 2014

Analysis of Maryland Stove Rebate Program (2013)

Pellet Stoves are hot commodity in Maryland rebate program

Alliance for Green Heat - A Maryland program that provides rebates for select pellet stoves and EPA certified wood stoves has been an overwhelming success for pellet stoves.  Of the 773 rebates given since the program started in September 2012, 646 or 83% of them have been for pellet stoves.

To date, the Maryland program has provided nearly $400,000 in rebate grants for pellet stoves and $67,000 for wood stoves.  The program is only open to families who heat with oil, propane or electricity in order to target those who have highest heating costs and the most carbon intensive fuels.

 The wood and pellet stove grant program is quickly catching up with the Maryland solar and geothermal grant programs, with 28% of all grants going to wood and pellet stoves and nearly 15% of total funding. The rebates range from $500 for wood stoves and solar hot water to $3,000 for geothermal.  All of the programs are designed and managed by the Maryland Energy Administration (MEA) with input from stakeholders and funded from Strategic Energy Investment Fund (SEIF), part of the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI).

“These results show that rebates for pellet stoves can help a state meet residential carbon and electricity reduction goals,” said John Ackerly, the President of the Alliance for Green Heat and one of the advocates for this program.  “Per dollar of state funds invested, this has enabled Maryland to help many more families reduce energy costs and drastically reduce their fossil fuel use,” Ackerly added.

The greater interest in pellet stoves is result of a combination of factors, including people using the rebate to upgrade from an old, uncertified wood stove to a pellet stove, a higher rebate amount for pellet stoves and not as many wood stoves qualifying for the program’s 3-gram per hour emission requirement.  Pellet stoves are held to 2-gram an hour emission limit.

Another factor is that pellet stoves are simply becoming more popular in Maryland as they are nationally. The state has one of the premier pellet stove dealers in the nation and a full 58% of the 79 wood and pellet stove grants listed one month were being handled by that dealer, Courtland Hearth & Hardware, that has 3 stores in northeast Maryland.

On a per capita basis, the rebate program has been most popular in Harford County and Maryland’s rural eastern shore, a peninsula between the Chesapeake Bay and the Atlantic that has very little natural gas penetration.  On a numerical basis, the most rebates are in Harford, Anne Arundel and Baltimore County, more heavily populated counties that also have higher median household incomes and can better afford the up front costs of purchasing and installing a stove.  Garrett County, one of Maryland’s counties with the lowest average household income and the highest rate of wood heating, had very few participants in the rebate program and they were only one of two counties that favored wood over pellet stoves.

In Maryland, the western counties and the Eastern shore have the lowest average household incomes and the center, which is part of the Washington, Baltimore,  Philadelphia corridor are the wealthiest, with the exception of inner city Baltimore. This corridor also has very high rates of national gas penetration. 

Unlike many programs in other states and areas, where wood smoke is a worse problem, the Maryland program does not require the homeowner to turn in an old uncertified stove to qualify for a rebate.  Nevertheless, according to several stove retailers, between 50% and 75% of old uncertified stoves are removed and recycled anyway. Recyclers usually pay $25 - $40 for old wood stoves.  This indicates that a rebate program that requires professional installation can be an inexpensive way to remove old wood stoves from the airshed compared to many change out programs, which tend to be more expensive.

The $500 - $700 rebate from the state helps Maryland achieve several objectives.  Other than helping people replace or significantly reduce fossil heating fuel, it also steers people to pellet stoves instead of wood ones and leads consumers to buy a cleaner stove and ensures that it is professionally installed and/or inspected, depending on permit and inspection requirements of the county.  Without the rebate, it is more likely that more consumers may buy off the second hand market, or buy higher emitting wood or pellet stove, or hang on to an older stove for longer.

From a carbon perspective, incenting the purchase of wood and pellet stoves can be a very good investment as a wood or pellet stove is often about 10% of the cost of solar or geothermal and can displace about the same amount of fossil fuel as the typical solar or geothermal installation.  Pellet stovesGenerally, pellet stoves are more likely to be a primary or sole heat source for a home because they can be easily run 24/7.  

From an emissions perspective, pellet stoves are clearly better than wood because the fuel size is small, it has consistent low moisture content and is fed into a more controlled combustion chamber. By limiting the rebate to homes that heat with electricity, oil or propane, the program effectively limits the vast majority of participants to rural areas, where stove emissions are not as problematic. 

Nationally, wood stoves have always outsold pellet stoves, but pellet stoves have twice come close to selling more than wood stoves annually.  Over the five years preceding 2013, manufacturers shipped an average of 90,000 pellet stoves per year versus 137,000 wood stoves, according to data from the industry association, the Hearth, Patio and Barbecue Association (HPBA).

Sampling of data from applications:

The MEA provided the Alliance for Green Heat with a sampling of data from 110 applications.  This data helps the MEA and other stakeholders understand which fossil fuels are being offset, what applicants do with old wood stoves and other metrics that can help assess the strengths and weaknesses of the program.  It appears that the fossil fuel most commonly displaced was electricity, which was twice as common as oil and propane.  It is unclear if electric heating means electric resistance heat or a heat pump and that has a large bearing on the amount of electricity reduced.  Many Marylanders have older, inefficient heat pumps that work poorly in very cold temperatures. 

The application does not ask if the person intended the new stove to be a primary or secondary heat source or whether an old wood or pellet stove being replaced was a primary or secondary heat source.  That will be one of the recommendations the Alliance makes to the MEA about future data collection to provide better metrics for the program.

Of the 110 applications, 33 of the households already had an older stove.  What is surprising is that   Pellet stoves have many moving parts and are not as durable as wood stoves and often need to be replaced every 10 – 15 years.  Of the 33 households with existing stoves, nearly 60% had their old one recycled or otherwise disposed of.  Six of them, or 18%, sold them on the second hand market, including a few old pellet stoves.  And 3 people kept their old wood stove installed as an emergency back-up heat for their new pellet stove.  Nearly half of these households already had a pellet stove and wanted to upgrade to a newer pellet stove.

This analysis is based on much more data but continues the trends that were noted in a similar analysis in February of 2013 after the pilot phase of the program.  During the pilot phase, rebates were $400 for wood stoves and $600 for pellet stoves.  

More info:
Maryland wood and pellet stove program details and application
Other Maryland renewable energy programs
Background on how the program began
Common questions and answers about the program

Maryland raises rebate amount and indefinitely extends wood and pellet stove program

The Maryland Energy Administration (MEA) announced that it extended the rebate program for wood and pellet stoves indefinitely, and raised the rebates amounts to $500 for wood stoves and $700 for pellet stoves.

Initial data from the program showed that Marylanders used the rebates for pellet stoves twice as often  Pellet stoves are usually used as a primary or sole heat source of an average sized home, and typically save consumers $400 to $800 each year in heating costs.
as for wood stoves, defying national trends.

The program provides rebates to Marylanders who heat their home with oil, propane or electricity, which accounts for about half the state’s population and almost all of the rural population. Homes that heat with natural gas, usually in urban and suburban areas, are not eligible.

“We want to thank the Director of the MEA, Abby Hopper and her staff for helping rural Marylanders use an affordable renewable energy and keep their energy dollars local,” said John Ackerly, President of the Alliance for Green Heat.

In a press release from the MEA on Sept. 16, 2013, MEA said, "Third party analysis of the program found that the most grants on a per capita basis have gone to rural counties that have been hit hardest by the economic recession. This grant further improves the already impressive economics of wood stove systems and provides incentives for the cleanest stoves on the market." 

The average cost for buying and installing a stove in Maryland is about $4,000. Although, according to MEA data, some project costs were under $3,000. For an average $4,000 project, the wood stove rebate of $500 covers 12% of the costs and the $700 rebate for a pellet stove covers 17% of the cost. A $300 federal tax credit that ends on December 31 of 2013 provides an additional incentive this year.

Extending the program indefinitely gives the wood and pellet stove grant program parity with the residential solar and geothermal programs.  Advocates, including the Alliance for Green Heat, had argued that ordinary rural Marylanders were being left out of a program that was mainly benefiting wealthy urban and suburban families.

Eligible stoves must meet emissions requirements than are significantly stricter than the EPA’s. Homeowners are not required to turn in an existing, uncertified stove. However, about half the families that had older, uncertified stoves recycled them, according to data collected by MEA.

The push to add wood and pellet stoves in Maryland’s residential renewable energy grant program was championed by Delegate Heather Mizeur of District 20 and a host of other Delegates.  The Alliance for Green Heat organized a coalition of environmental and renewable energy groups and small businesses. The MEA voluntarily began the funding using existing resources in September 2012.

For information about how to apply for the rebate, click here. 
http://energy.maryland.gov/residential/Pages/incentives/woodstoves.aspx

For common Questions & Answers about the program, click here. http://www.forgreenheat.org/consumer_resources/mdrpqa.html#B

Maryland Rebates for Wood & Pellet Stoves Reach Less Affluent Families

Alliance for Green Heat, February 12, 2013 - Initial data released by the Maryland Energy Administration (MEA) shows there have been more wood and pellet stove grants awarded per capita in the more rural and less affluent counties of the Eastern Shore than the more populated central region of the state. This provides some early indication that the Clean Burning Wood Stove Grant Program has succeeded in delivering more benefits to the areas it was intended to help. Both Somerset and Dorchester counties on the Eastern Shore had two of the highest per capita rebates and are both among the state’s poorest counties.

The other striking trend is that Marylanders used the rebates for pellet stove twice as often as for wood stoves, defying national trends. “We are extremely pleased by these early numbers, showing that Maryland crafted a renewable energy rebate program that really works for average Maryland families,” said John Ackerly, President of the Alliance for Green Heat.

The average cost of purchasing and installing a wood or pellet stove in this program was $4,180 and the majority of projects cost between $3,000 - $5,000. Five of the 78 projects to receive rebates cost less than $2,000 and 3 cost more than $6,000. The typical MEA stove grant covered between 8% - 20% of the total project cost.

MEA launched the Clean Burning Wood Stoves Grant Program in September as a pilot program with $50,000 in funding. The initial $50,000 is gone, but MEA says they are extending the program indefinitely. If it were made permanent, it would join programs established for residential solar PV, solar thermal, geothermal and wind.

The Clean Burning Wood Stoves Grant Program is innovative in that it only provides rebates to Maryland households heating with oil, propane or electricity and does not cover homes with access to natural gas. This has resulted in funds being focused on the half of the state’s households that uses the highest priced and most carbon intensive heating fuels. The initial data also shows that on a per capita basis, many of the rebates have gone to homeowners on the Eastern Shore, where natural gas is not widely available. However, the program has not yet shown the same results in Western Maryland where access to natural gas is also limited. Thus far, no household has received a rebate from Garrett or Allegany County, which are among the most rural and least affluent in the state.

Of the 78 grants that have been paid, only 20 have gone towards wood stoves and 58 to pellet stoves. In most states, wood stove outsell pellet stoves by 2 or 3 to 1. The reverse trend in Maryland may have something to do with the higher rebate level for pellet stoves ($600 instead of $400). The popularity of pellet stoves in this program is a very positive sign that these families are using their pellet stoves as a sole or primary heat source and completely avoiding use of oil, propane and electricity for heat. Wood stoves are more likely to be a secondary source of heat or provide 60 or 80% of heat, whereas pellet stoves are more likely to provide 90% or 100%.

The other notable and more predictable trend is that pellet stoves were most popular in counties with higher average per capita income. The most pellet stove rebates have been awarded in Anne Arundel and Harford counties, which are located in central Maryland and have higher median per capita income at $37,600 and $32,700, respectively. Counties with a median per capital income of $25,000 or less chose wood stoves as often as pellet stoves. Median income in Maryland is $34,500, according to the 2010 U.S. Census.

MEA is still compiling data about how many homes had wood or pellet stoves prior to buying a new, cleaner one with the rebates what they did with their old stove and what heating fuel was being replaced.  The program only provide rebates to the cleanest stoves on the market. Wood stoves must emit no more than 3 grams of particulates per hour and pellet stoves 2 grams.

Thanks to Kyle Haas at MEA for providing this data and managing the program.  For more information on the program and how to apply for a wood or pellet stove grant, visit MEA’s site or the Alliance for Green Heat’s Frequently Asked Questions page. One page fact sheets are available for download here and here.

Maryland Expands Eligibility in Stove Rebate Program

In an effort to make more low and middle-income families eligible for its clean burning wood stove rebate program, the Maryland Energy Administration (MEA) is waiving the professional installation requirement under certain circumstances. The MEA is also allowing families who heat with wood or pellets to use the rebate to buy a new, replacement stove. Previously, the MEA only wanted to serve homes that did not have an existing wood or pellet stove. As of November 28, the MEA has received around 40 applications for the rebate and has funding for 100. MEA says that it hopes to extend the program next year.

Here are changes, as described by MEA:

MEA is now accepting qualified self-installed wood burning stoves with documentation of inspection. To accommodate those who are qualified to install stoves at their own home, MEA is now accepting self-installations. The agency wants to ensure that the stoves are safely installed and running efficiently, therefore they are requiring that those self-installed stoves are accompanied by documentation that the stove has been inspected post-install by either a county inspector or an insurance adjuster. In the case of an insurance adjuster’s inspection, a typed letter on the company’s letterhead stating that the installation has been inspected and meets all codes/safety requirements of that jurisdiction will suffice as documentation. In the case of a county building inspector, a “passed” photo or copy of the inspection sticker will suffice.

MEA is now awarding grants for the upgrade of older/less efficient woodstoves. With technology upgrades, MEA now offers the same incentives to households with less efficient stoves, as newer stoves are more efficient, cost effective and environmentally friendly. All other requirements still apply to applications.

For more information see http://energy.maryland.gov/Residential/woodstoves/index.html.

Questions? Contact Kyle Haas at khaas@energy.state.md.us.