FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 18, 2021
Bethel, ME – With fossil fuel prices spiking, Maine Energy Systems locks in its prices for bulk wood pellet delivery customers for this winter. Wood pellet prices, compared by heat value, will be at the equivalent of $2.47/gal compared to oil or $1.68/gal propane* – far lower than this year’s fossil fuel price projections.
New England is expecting a cold winter and fossil fuels prices are starting to skyrocket. Crude oil prices are hovering around $85/barrel and the effects are already being felt across New England as people start up their heating systems this fall.
The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) is projecting a 43% price increase for #2 heating oil and a 54% increase for propane this winter for consumers. Reuters is reporting that oil prices will average $3.39/gal and propane at $2.50-$3.50/gal based on the EIA projections. Electricity rates are also going up dramatically. As NBC recently reported, low oil production is likely to continue as we stay on track for clean energy goals approaching 2030, so these prices are expected to endure.
Consumers need options, and these options exist right here in our backyard with clean, renewable fuel.
Wood pellets fed to modern wood central heating systems equate to about $2.47/gal when compared to oil, and their pricing is not expected to fluctuate over the course of this winter. Overall, the cost of wood pellets for heat has risen less than inflation over the past decade.
Most New England states offer rebates to homeowners of between $6,000 and $10,000 for installing modern wood heating systems for bulk wood pellet delivery. Additionally, thanks to the Biomass Thermal Utilization Act (BTU Act), homeowners can benefit from a 26% federal tax credit on new installations. This allows homeowners to benefit from thousands of dollars of incentives to switch to renewable fuel and continue to save on heating costs for the life of their central pellet heating system (Maine Energy Systems heating systems hold 30-year warrantees).
New England can set the example for the US in fighting climate change by leading the switch to renewable heating and allowing homeowners to nearly cut their heating bills in half.
This region has dense forests that require good management soon, a sustainably managed forest industry, and excess waste wood and low-grade wood due to the decline in the paper and biomass electric demands. It also has the infrastructure and technology to support this in place now.
Maine Energy Systems is poised for a spike in demand of both wood pellet central heating systems and wood pellet delivery incases.
Contact Maine Energy Systems (MESys) at www.MaineEnergySystems.com, by calling 207-824-NRGY (6749), or by emailing [email protected] for installation or pellet delivery information. Note: MESys’ 2-ton minimum delivery and other industry standards do apply.
* 1 gallon of propane holds 70% of the BTUs held in a gallon of oil.
About Maine Energy Systems
Maine Energy Systems (MESys) builds and distributes the world’s finest fully automated wood pellet boilers and furnaces for residential, commercial, and industrial use throughout North America. MESys also delivers bulk wood pellets to many of the Northeast states using state-of-the-art pellet delivery equipment that’s specifically designed to deliver wood pellets with the least amount of dust possible. This ensures that pellet heating systems continue to serve homes, businesses, and institutions at their best.
More on the BTU Act
The BTU Act is a powerful supporting policy for renewable heating; however, it’s slated to end by 2023. Right now, there is a current proposal in Congress to extend the BTU Act is to include commercial and business installations for biomass as heat. It also seeks to extend both business and residential credits out to 2023 at a 30% Federal Tax Credit rate.
To add to this: every dollar that’s spent on heating fuel in Maine results in about 68% of that dollar leaving the Maine economy, according to the EIA, and this is similar across New England. The BTU Act will help keep millions in fuel dollars in New England’s economy.
The BTU Act impacts homeowners through immediate savings on heating and the ability to access both the Federal Tax Credit and state rebate incentives. Also, businesses and commercial applications of renewable heat will benefit and support the growth of heating with renewable, environmentally friendly, local fuel. The BTU Act is simply a way to support a technology that’s clean and efficient at a comparable cost to fossil fuel systems. This alleviates the cost barrier of installation for consumers, especially in high fuel cost times like now.