Selling heat – by the pellet (Maine)

[jpak]

http://pressherald.mainetoday.com/story.php?id=232102&ac=PHbiz

Steven Mueller is looking for 80 or so Maine businesses, schools and other large work spaces that want free wood pellet boilers installed. His company, International WoodFuels LLC, will install the units in line with existing heat and hot water systems, maintain the boilers and deliver pellets for free.

In exchange, customers must sign 10-year contracts to buy heat, which is measured by a meter just as electricity costs are calculated. The heat is guaranteed to cost less than fuel oil, unless oil falls below a base price. This year, the floor is $2 a gallon.

"We're not selling pellets," Mueller said. "We're selling a solution – metered, thermal energy."

After months of quietly building a client base in Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont and Massachusetts, International WoodFuels is positioning itself to become a major player in the region's growing pellet fuels industry. The company has opened an East Coast headquarters in Portland. It claims to have millions of dollars in private capital and is preparing to build pellet-production plants in each of the four states, two of them over the next year. Its business model – metered heat – reflects practices in Europe and the more-familiar methods of buying electricity in the United States.

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[madokie]

1. I predict this will be a win for everyone involved

[Canuckistanian]

2. What's the deal on wood pellet energy?

Is it sustainable? How much CO2 does it produce in relation to other sources, such as wood?

[madokie]

3. The last estimate I read was there were millions of tons of sawdust going to landfills each year

It sounded like we could have a big increase in the number of homes using wood pellet heat. Taking carbon out of the air as the tree grew and then releasing it when it is burned in comparison to using fossil fuels sounds like a good deal to me. Theres a small footprint with using wood pellet fuel but one has to remember this is an otherwise waste product. The stoves are designed to burn in the 90% efficiency range so that is good too. We've been using wood pellet heat since the winter of '91 - '92 and its saved us many a penny. Our other options is direct burning of wood, electric or propane.

[Canuckistanian]

4. Oh, thanks

I never realized it was made of waste sawdust.

I was looking around for an alternative way of heating my house and I liked the idea of pellet stoves.

I'll have to look into it more seriously.