Advanced Wood and Pellet Heat: A Clean, Renewable Energy Solution

On July 13, the Alliance for Green Heat held a symposium to explore how the United States can maximize the renewable energy potential of wood and pellet heat with the development and deployment of clean and more efficient technologies and fuels. At the symposium, the Alliance released a new report, Transforming Wood Heat In America: A Toolkit of Policy Options .

According to the Alliance, wood heat provides about 80 percent of residential renewable energy in the United States, compared to solar PV at about 15 percent and geothermal at about 5 percent. While residential wood heat is the dominant player in residential renewable energy, most wood heat appliances in the United States are outdated, energy-inefficient, and emit too many particulates.

Expanding the use of modern, low-emission, highly-efficient renewable wood and pellet burning stoves and furnaces is one of the most cost-effective ways to reduce residential fossil fuel use and stimulate a renewable energy economy. Replacing old, inefficient, polluting fireplaces and wood stoves also can improve regional air quality. The United States lags substantially behind the European Union (EU) in the adoption of these technologies. Rather than using existing efficient, clean, renewable wood fuel technologies for heating at home to reduce the need for imported fossil petroleum and gas, the United States is beginning to export mass quantities of wood pellets to the EU . Wood heat enjoys a deep cultural acceptance in America but federal and state policies to encourage its use are lacking.

For more information, see the video of EESI’s Congressional briefing Heating and Cooling with Sustainable Biomass .