July 8, 2016

In this Week's Pellet Wire:



Sign Up Today for the PFI Annual Conference in Asheville, NC; Register for the Annual PFI Golf Tournament

We hope to see you in Asheville, NC for the PFI Annual Conference taking place July 24-26! The conference highlights the various applications of densified biomass, as well as trends and best practices within the densified biomass industry. It attracts a broad range of individuals from the public and private sectors, academia, and local, state and national governments from North America and beyond. The conference features two days of educational sessions as well as industry exhibits, extensive networking opportunities and a golf tournament. Register for the PFI conference now - it's not too late.

Golf Tournament

Don't forget to sign up for the 2016 PFI Golf Tournament! Taking place the morning of Sunday, July 24, the tournament will be played on the legendary Omni Grove Park Inn golf course. The Donald Ross-designed course has been played by PGA stars Bobby Jones, Ben Hogan and Jack Nicklaus, and features views of the Blue Ridge Mountains. It's not too late - Don't miss out on this great opportunity to network with friends and colleagues.  Find out more on the golf tournament today.

Reservations

There's still time to make your reservation at the Omni Grove Park Inn. Please contact the hotel directly to reserve your room at 1-800-THE-OMNI (800-843-6664).

Agenda

The PFI Annual Conference 2016 has a robust agenda lined up, with first class speakers to discuss some of the pellet fuels industry's most pressing issues, including panels on market growth, policy, operations and technology.  

Sponsorship & Exhibitor Opportunities

There are sponsorship and exhibitor packages available that feature free access to the conference, complimentary golf tournament registration, promotion to hundreds of potential pellet fuels customers, and more.

Sponsorship and exhibition at PFI's Annual Conference offer fantastic marketing and networking opportunities for all involved in the pellet fuels industry. Each year, colleagues from across North America and beyond attend this can't miss conference featuring two days of educational sessions, industry exhibits and social events. For information on sponsorships and exhibition, please contact PFI at [email protected]


Conference Speaker Preview: FutureMetrics' Bill Strauss

At the PFI Annual Conference, attendees will hear the latest from industry experts on policy, technology, market opportunities, and much more.

William Strauss is the President and founder of FutureMetrics, LLC. Bill is globally recognized as a leading expert in published numerous papers on a variety of subjects relevant to the wood pellet sector. He is also a founder and a Director of Maine Energy Systems, the largest manufacturer of European style automatic pellet fueled central heating systems in North America. Bill is the chief economist for the Biomass Thermal Energy Council (Washington, DC). He served as the chief economist on the Maine Governor's Wood-to- Energy Task force in 2008. The 2012 recipient of the International Excellence in Bioenergy award, Bill has been named as one of the most influential leaders in the biomass sector in 2016 by Argus Media. Bill has more than forty years of strategic and policy planning, project management, data analysis, operations, and modeling experience in the renewable energy sector including 10 years operating large waste-to- energy plants in the 1980s. He has an MBA (specializing in Finance) and a PhD (Economics, Earth Systems Science).

Visit PFI's website to view the full conference agenda



Two Northeast Wood Products Facilities Qualify for PFI Standards Program

Two Northeast Wood Products facilities, located in Liogner, Indiana and Peebles, Ohio this week became the 25th and 26th facilities qualified by the PFI Standards Program. The company's facility in Jasper, Tennessee was previously qualified. 

"We at Northeast Wood Products are proud to have two more facilities qualified by the program," said Mike Reid of Northeast Wood Products. "It has been worth our time and investment to qualify all three of our facilities into the program. Our customers and retailers value our consistent quality, and now we have that extra proof with the PFI Quality Mark on our products bags. We expect our PFI Standards Program qualification to lead to market growth for our business."

In qualifying for the Standards Program, the two facilities join companies across the country with previously qualified facilities: New England Wood Pellet, Curran Renewable Energy, American Wood Fibers, Lignetics Inc., Marth Peshtigo Pellet Co., Forest Energy Corp., Indeck Ladysmith, Energex, Spearfish Pellet Co., Michigan Wood Fuels LLC, Trae Fuels Ltd., Somerset Pellet Fuel, NWP Jasper, Georgia Biomass and Smith Flooring.

To read the full press release, please visit PFI's website.


Pellet Fuels and Equipment Auction Scheduled for July 20

Okanaga Pellet Company, Inc., located in West Kelowna, British Columbia, is holding a live auction on July 20 to liquidate its assets. More than 100 items - including vehicles, equipment and even office supplies - will be auctioned to the highest bidder. Participants may join on-site or online.

For more information on the auction and its listed items, please visit the auction website


Host an Event for Bioenergy Day 2016, Taking Place on October 19

October 19, 2016, marks the Fourth Annual Bioenergy Day! Many pellet fuels manufacturers are planning facility tours and other events to emphasize the many economic and environmental benefits of bioenergy to elected officials, customers, the media and other stakeholders.

We urge anyone interested in building ties to their communities to consider hosting a Bioenergy Day event, either on your own or jointly with other bioenergy businesses or supporters in your region.  There are many resources available to help you plan, including a Participation Guide on theBioenergy Day website. Previous participants are also willing to share best practices, lessons learned, and other tips to ensure a smooth and successful event. 

Thanks to many sponsors, including the U.S. Forest Service, and participants, Bioenergy Day has grown each year. Organizations across the country have engaged their communities on bioenergy, earning dozens of media stories and helping more people understand bioenergy. State and local governments, elected officials, universities and businesses have all recognized bioenergy in its many forms. Biomass power, domestic and export pellets, biogas, anaerobic digesters, combined heat and power - all of these types of bioenergy are part of Bioenergy Day.

To learn more, visit www.bioenergyday.com, or send an email to Carrie Annand at [email protected]



 


Upcoming Industry Events 

July 24-26, 2016 : PFI Annual Conference

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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

Does Biomass Harvest Affect Wildlife?
N.C. State University
On loblolly pine plantations in the Southeast, timber harvesting often involves an extra step: gleaning woody debris left behind after clearcutting. Branches, treetops and smaller trees are sources of biomass that can be compressed to make wood pellets, a renewable energy source often used for heating stoves and generating electricity.

Biomass harvesters may leave some of the woody debris on the ground to conserve food and cover for wildlife, but the guidelines they follow vary widely. Recommendations for the amount of debris to be left on the ground range from 10 to 30 percent, depending on the state. Some guidelines recommend creating piles of debris, while others say it should be left scattered across the land.

"We couldn't determine what data the states were basing their biomass harvesting guidelines on," says former NC State University doctoral student Sarah Fritts, lead author of studies published in the journals Ecological Applications and Forest Ecology and Management. "We thought it was important to track wildlife on sites that had used recommended operational practices in Georgia and North Carolina."

Read the Full Article


Wood Pellet Heating: Theory and Practice
Chronicle Journal, Ontario
Did you know that approximately 80 per cent of your home energy use is for heating and hot water? (Source: Natural Resources Canada) As homeowners in Northern Ontario how can we reduce this energy cost?

Wood pellets are an economical fuel choice to replace electricity, fuel oil and propane to provide heat and domestic hot water. Many homeowners are already using manually fed wood pellet stoves to offset their heating costs. High efficiency automated hydronic heating systems (boilers) are now available to provide primary heat in small residences, businesses and large institutional buildings. Heating with pellet has tremendous potential for remote, rural and off-grid communities and is economically beneficial to areas that do not have access to natural gas.

Wood pellets are produced from compacted sawdust from sawmills and under utilized tree species. The sawdust is compacted under very high pressure, melting the natural glue (lignin) within, forming a pellet. The wood pellet is all natural with no additives!

Read the Full Article


JAXPORT Makes Play to Dominate Wood Pellet Export Sector
Florida
FloridaPolitics.com obtained a copy of internal talking points designed to help Jacksonville officials sell the Florida Department of Transportation on advocating a $24 million TIGER Grant for JAXPORT.

This project, claims the talking points, "will make JAXPORT the largest wood pellet terminal in the U.S. and enhance U.S. exports by two million tons of manufactured wood pellets per year by 2020."

The goal: "intermodal infrastructure enhancements for exports." Those exports: Georgia wood pellets, destined for European markets, such as Denmark and Belgium.

The talking points sell JAXPORT as the sole point of export, justifying the $24 million TIGER grant funding "37 percent of a new wood pellet intermodal system that will export wood pellets manufactured in Georgia and shipped out of JAXPORT to several locations in Europe."

Read the Full Article

 


Pellet Fuels Institute |  [email protected]   | 703.522.6778