New York is getting all fired up about wood heating, awarding a total of three million dollars to 18 researchers and businesses throughout the state.

The grants, awarded through the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA), are part of the Renewable Heat NY program, the purpose of which is to promote expansion of the biomass heating market.

In the Mohawk Valley, Vincent's Heating and Fuel Service - based in Poland - will receive $110,000 to buy an eight-ton capacity wood pellet delivery truck to expand both its territory and the wood pellet market.

Northeast Forests in Thendara will receive $98,000 to research the process of producing low-moisture wood ships.  The results of the research will be shared with the forest product community.

Other businesses receiving funding outside of the Mohawk Valley are:

  • Clarkson University (North Country - Potsdam): $80,000 to study the presence of carbon monoxide in wood pellet storage facilities
  • Clarkson University (North Country - Saranac Lake): $267,500 to install two high efficiency, low emissions wood pellet boilers used to evaluate the performance, emissions, and efficiency of the units under real-life cold weather conditions of Northern New York
  • The Wild Center and Natural History Museum of the Adirondacks (North Country - Tupper Lake): $126,000 to add two 850-gallon thermal storage tanks to a pellet boiler and solar thermal project
  • Northeast States for Coordinated Air Use Management (North Country - Lake Placid): $190,000 to study the winter characteristics of wood smoke particulate concentrations in a rural valley community
  • Research Foundation of SUNY Canton (North Country - Canton): $163,000 to install wood pellet heating systems in three buildings in Saint Lawrence COunty
  • Cornell Cooperative Extension (Southern Tier - Ithaca): $66,000 to replace older wood stoves and wood boilers with wood pellet stoves and boilers
  • Finger Lakes Research Conservation and Development Council (Southern Tier - Bath): $97,000 to evaluate a commercial biomass boiler designed for grasses
  • University at Buffalo Research Foundation (Western New York - Buffalo): $300,000 to co-develop a commercial two-stage hydronic heater with Econoburn
  • Hydronic Specialty Supply (Western New York - Cassadaga): $227,000 to develop "Made in NY" firewood gasification boilers
  • Advanced Wood Combustion Technologies LLC (Western New York - East Aurora): $49,000 to create a retrofit prototype for single stage outdoor wood boilers
  • University of Rochester (Finger Lakes - Richester): $300,000 to study community levels of ambient wood smoke and its possible link to cardiovascular disease
  • Clarkson University (Central New York - Syracuse): $120,000 to evaluate a pellet boiler with an electrostatic precipitator emission controller and examine emissions from both premium wood pellets and willow pellets
  • Cornell University (Central New York - Syracuse): $125,000 to conduct field measurements of the combined heat and power systems at the SUNY Environmental Science and Forestry facility
  • College of Environmental Science and Forestry (Central New York - Syracuse): $150,000 to evaluate hot water extraction and flue gas drying technology as alternatives to conventional wood chip drying methods
  • Brookhaven National Lab / The Northeast States for Coordinated Air Use Management (Long Island - Upton): $300,000 to develop a more accurate and realistic test method for biomass heating systems
  • The National Risk Management Research Laboratory (Statewide, part of the Environmental Protection Agency): $150,000 to help evaluate the efficiency and emissions performance of a pellet hydronic heater.

A Biomass Heating Roadmap is also being developed for the state,  That is expected to be released later in 2014.

In a written statement announcing the initiative Governor Andrew Cuomo said, "Under our Renewable Heat NY initiative, we are supporting projects that phase out old, inefficient, and polluting technologies and helping to grow the biomass clean energy industry."

 

More From WIBX 950