PFI's Weekly Newsletter

 

 

May 26, 2017

In this Week's Pellet Wire:


Book Your Hotel Room for the 2017 PFI Annual Conference and Win $150!     

Have you booked your room yet? If you reserve your room by June 23, you will be automatically entered to win a $150 Visa gift card! What are you waiting for? Book your room today!

Staying at the Stowe Mountain Lodge makes attending the PFI annual conference convenient and easy. All PFI attendees receive a discounted rate of $259. Take advantage of this discount while it lasts!

Stowe has been a destination for world travelers for well over a century. The alpine style of the lodge reflects the beauty of the green mountains and rolling hills. Having opened in June 2008, Stowe Mountain Lodge sets a new standard of luxury and aesthetics for the East Coast's most magnificent resort.Built at the base of Stowe Mountain Resort, in the new "Vermont-Alpine" style, Stowe Mountain Lodge offers a truly luxurious setting while still paying respect to the Vermont traditions of utilizing local artisan products and embracing the tranquility of nature. We can't wait to see you this July in Stowe! Sign up today to secure your spot.

In conjunction with a dynamic conference program, you can visit some of the nearby sites like the Alchemist Brewery and some of the best shopping and dining Vermont has to offer. Combined with some of the area outdoor activities such as zip lining, biking, the PFI conference is a must-attend event. Take a look at all the great things Stowe has to offer.

We hope to see you this summer in Vermont! Please contact [email protected] with any questions. 


Connect with PFI on Linkedin

This week, PFI updated its LinkedIn page. We'd like to connect and interact with PFI members and anyone else involved in pellet fuels production!

Here's how you can help us build our online community:
1. Follow us on LinkedIn!
2. Encourage your colleagues and other business associates to follow us.
3. Send Carrie Annand news or other ideas to post on LinkedIn. 


Government Affairs Update: Trump Administration Proposed Budget

This week, the Trump Administration unveiled its FY 2018 budget proposal.   The document featured significant non-defense spending cuts across the federal government infrastructure. The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) was a particular target of this budget blueprint. For example, the budget for the Office of Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy or EERE was cut by more than half. EERE oversees efficiency standards for buildings and appliances — and supports research in renewable energy. It also provides the majority of funding for the National Renewable Energy Laboratory in Colorado.

The Trump administration is proposing to fund the office at $636 million, down from over $2 billion in fiscal 2017.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture also was targeted for significant cuts. In addition to deep cuts in subsidies to row crop agriculture, the proposed budget completely defunds the Biomass Crop Assistance Program or BCAP. This program has been a bit of a non-factor for our sector for some time, but its defunding was notable. The other renewable energy programs that we participate in did not appear to be reduced in a meaningful way.  

This budget submission is more of messaging document and will not be enacted by this Congress. Republicans and Democrats alike have expressed concerns about many of the cuts and the final 2018 spending plan will not likely resemble the document that was released this week. As always PFI will be participating in the appropriations process and ensuring that programs we support will continue to receive funds necessary to deliver on their objectives.    



2017 PFI Sponsorship & Advertising Opportunities

PFI invites you to become a 2017 sponsor! This year, we have developed a new, streamlined sponsorship program that will create multiple opportunities for your company in 2017. Your company will have great visibility at PFI events, on the PFI website, and in the PFI newsletter, amongst other benefits.

The 2017 Sponsorship packages include benefits such as:

  • PFI Annual Conference registrations
  • Breakfast & Biomass registrations
  • Company logo listed on the PFI website
  • 10x10 booth at the PFI Annual Conference
  • Weekly newsletter advertising
  • Website advertising
  • And more!

PFI's membership includes over 100 member companies, and our electronic newsletter is sent to over 3,500 people every week. Now is the time to become a sponsor of this organization. Visit our website to explore how you can become involved.



Follow and Connect With Us on Social Media!

We urge all PFI members to engage with us on social media. By joining PFI in being visible and active on social media, we can make our voices heard more loudly and by many more audiences.

Follow us on Twitter: @PelletFuel
Friend us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/pfipellets
Link with us on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/pellet-fuels-institute


Have News to Share on Pellet Wire?

We'd love to feature your company's news in a future Pellet Wire! We want to be the first to know your company's recent developments to share them with the wider pellet fuels industry.

Please be in touch with Carrie Annand at [email protected] with information on your company's growth, job openings, promotions or other news. 


Join a PFI Committee

We welcome and encourage all interested PFI members to get involved in our committees. There are many opportunities to help steer the association. No matter where your expertise and interests lie, we have a committee that will suit you. Help us plan our next conference, shape our policy agenda, lead communications outreach or grow the PFI Standards Program. Visit PFI's website for more information. 



Upcoming Industry Events

July 23-25, 2017: PFI Annual Conference

Connect with PFI

PelletHeat.org
Facebook
Twitter
Join PFI


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

How to Choose an Outdoor Grill 
San Jose Mercury News  

When DC and I blended our households, it was like Noah filling his ark: We brought two of almost everything - his and hers toasters, blenders, TVs, even two chocolate fountains, which reassured me that he had his priorities straight.

But, somehow, we'd left ashore the outdoor grills.

DC sold his charcoal grill with his home. I had left my gas grill cemented in stone when I moved out of the last house I owned. We had been limping by with an indoor George Foreman grill.

Read Full Article


The Green Gospel: Christian College among Manitoba Leaders Discovering Path to Winnipeg Free Press 

It was, suitably, a ball of fire in the night sky that was a turning point for a Christian school's move towards environmentalism.

In late January 2014, the TransCanada Pipelines compressor station just west of Highway 59 blew, sending flames 200 feet into the air and melting part of Provincial Road 303, which leads to Providence University College.

"Students saw that and thought the world was ending," said business Prof. Bruce Duggan with a laugh, perhaps only partially joking.

Read Full Article


Renewable Energy Jobs Push 10 million Globally  
Biomass Magazine
 

The renewable energy industry directly and indirectly employed 9.8 million people worldwide in 2016, an increase of 1.1 percent over the previous year.

That's according to the International Renewable Energy Agency's newly released, annual jobs report that illustrates the state of employment in renewables by sector and leading countries.

Employment has grown each year since the first jobs report was released five years ago, according to IRENA, but has slowed a bit during the past two years.

Read Full Article 


Triple Play Boosting Value of Renewable Fuels could Tip Market in Favor of Biomass 
Science Daily

Technologies for converting non-edible biomass into chemicals and fuels traditionally made from petroleum exist aplenty. But when it comes to attracting commercial interest, these technologies compete financially with a petroleum-based production pipeline that has been perfected over the course of decades.

Winning that competition -- or at least leveling the economic playing field -- requires a leap forward. And by developing a new process for obtaining not one, but three high-value products from biomass in one fell swoop, University of Wisconsin-Madison engineers and their collaborators have now made that leap.

The researchers, led by James Dumesic, professor of chemical and biological engineering, published their results in the journal Science Advances.

Read Full Article


PFI Members, Friends and Family - Have a Wonderful Memorial Day Weekend! Thank You to Our Veterans for Your Service and Sacrifice.

 

Pellet Fuels Institute |  [email protected]   | 206.209.5277