[SustainableTompkins] new to list

[Anthony Nekut]

Hi - 
Just subscribed to list and thought I'd tell you what I'm up to.  Here
is a "mission statement" for my project, Ithaca Woodheat.
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Objective - to sustainably and cost competitively supply locally
produced forest biomass fuel for local use in modern, high efficiency,
low emissions heating plants.

The technology required is already developed and available.  Needed
equipment includes harvesters, chippers, conveyors, and furnaces.
Sustainability is achieved by actively managing participating
forestlands which are harvested on a regular basis for timber and fuel
wood.

Wide acceptance of forest biomass heating hinges on its cost
competitiveness with fossil fuel alternatives.  In the current market,
forest biomass is very inexpensive; roughly 15% of natural gas and 10%
of fuel oil costs for equivalent energy content.  On the other hand,
capital spending is required to build the wood fuel supply
infrastructure and equip buildings with wood burning appliances.  With
low demand, wood biomass prices will stay low and hinder capital
investment on the supply side.  With uncertain supply, there will be
little investment in wood burning appliances, which will hinder demand
growth.  It is not clear whether wood biomass heating will gain
popularity without some incentives.  Clearly, a thorough economic
analysis is required.  From a government policy standpoint, attention
should be given to the potential economic benefits of local wood fuel
production.  These benefits should be considered when incentive
decisions are made.

Although heating with woodstoves and cordwood has a long history, the
use of chipped or pelletized wood biomass fuel in low emission furnaces
is fairly recent.  Cordwood tends to be relatively expensive, about 50%
of natural gas cost for equivalent energy content, because its
traditional production is labor intensive.  Production of chips and
pellets can be largely automated, as can the heating appliances which
burn them.  Wood biomass heating costs are best minimized using a
coordinated systems approach to the entire process of harvesting,
processing, delivering and burning.

Apart from the necessary economic and policy analyses, it is important
to familiarize heating suppliers and consumers with modern wood biomass
technology.  To this end, Ithaca Woodheat is planning several
demonstration projects.  The first project will set up a small woodchip
fired boiler system in a publicly accessible building.  The public will
be invited to visit the installation, learn about wood biomass heating,
and how it might apply to their homes or buildings.  The second project
will enlist some forest landowners in a sustainable management and
production scheme and then demonstrate the use of modern harvesting and
processing equipment in their forests.
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I plan to write a grant proposal to NYSERDA under an RFP to be announced
this May or June.  If funded, I will use the money to import a woodchip
biomass boiler system from Europe for the first demonstration project.
I am currently researching manufacturers and local installation venue
options.  This is an avocational project; I have no entrepreneurial
intentions.  It just seems like a good thing to do.  Any comments or
offers to help are most welcome.

Best regards, Tony Nekut