A plan to get Vermont homes and pulbic buildings off of foreign heating oil and propane by 2031 was presented Thursday by The Vermont Public Interest Research Group. The plan replaces heating oil with a combination of wood, grass pellets, solar hot water, biodiesel, electricity and natural gas, heat sources which are available locally, according to VPIRG spokesman Clay Francis.
The wood heat including wood pellets and chips, would account for twenty four percent of VPIRG’s clean heat plan, will come from Vermont forests that cover seventy-eight percent of the state, said Francis who authored the VPIRG report. Francis said that he is confident that through smart logging and taking into consideration the new growth in the forests each year, Vermont will have enough wood to heat homes and preserve the forest.
“Vermont’s forests are such an important part of the state’s landscape so we would not support anything that would endanger our forests,” said Francis.
The VPIRG report estimates that retrofitting homes and buildings to make them more energy efficient could create 3,600 jobs in Vermont. Andy Boutin, owner of a wood pellet company said that there would be even more Vermont jobs in the creation of wood and grass pellets if more people begin to use them to fuel their homes.
According to the US Department of Energy, wood pellet stoves cost between $1,700 and $3,000. They also require frequent inspections and maintenance to ensure the stove is working safely. Wood pellets cost approximately $120–$200 a ton and on average households that use pellets as their main fuel source use two to three tons per year, according to the Department of Energy.
Rep. Anthony Klein, chairman of the House Committee on Natural Resources and Energy, said that the legislature should be creating a way to fund incentives for homeowners to switch to clean fuels and make their homes more energy efficient.
Jenna Pizzi
Comments