Wood stoves/furnaces
Livin' the Dream, Off the Grid and Thriving
Mother Earth News / Cam Mather / 04 August 2010
Twenty years ago my wife Michelle and I had a dream to get out of the city and move to the country. We wanted to live more sustainably and have space around us. Almost 14 years ago we found our little piece of paradise on 150 acres in Eastern Ontario. The nearest utility pole is 3 miles to the east and 4 miles to the west and we power the house entirely with the sun and wind. It truly is a dream come true.
CN growing “green” wood pellet traffic at double-digit rates
CN / Press Release / 05 November 2009
North America's largest mover of forest products – is on track to haul more than 800,000 tons of wood pellets this year and sees more opportunities in the future for this “green” source of heating energy.
“Since 2005, we have experienced a 16 per cent compounded annual growth in our wood pellet traffic, and we see growing potential for this business in domestic and international markets,” said James Foote, executive vice-president, Sales and Marketing.
Who says it's green to burn woodchips?
The Independent / Graham Mole / 25 October 2009
One of the most cherished articles of faith of the green movement – that wood-fuelled power stations can help save the planet – is being increasingly challenged by campaigners and conservationists around the world.
Electricity generated by burning woodchips is on the verge of a global boom. America is planning 102 power stations fuelled by woodchips in the next few years. Europe is reported to be planning a similar, if yet unquantified, expansion. And in Britain, the next three years will see wood-fuelled power station capacity increase sevenfold, requiring, according to the campaign group Biofuelwatch, so much timber that it would need an area 12 times the size of Liechtenstein to grow it.
The power companies say the source will be "sustainable forests", but campaigners and ecologists claim that untold damage will be caused by the burgeoning market for wood. They say that, although traders in the developing world are being tempted to grub up and sell native forests, the chief danger is in the creation of monoculture plantations, where single species of trees are grown in straight rows and little wildlife can establish a home for itself.
They also challenge the "green" assumptions behind woodchip power, claiming that, far from fighting climate change, transporting large amounts of bulk wood across oceans and then burning it will increase carbon discharges by 50 per cent more than would have been caused by burning a fossil fuel like coal.
Fuelwood, the Environment and the 21st Century: Discussion Paper
Rural Ontarians have a long history of using fuelwood for home heating and could be considered one of the early leaders in the movement towards reducing our reliance on fossil fuels by using a renewable green energy source.
The harvest of fuelwood is an essential management tool used by forest managers to help maintain and enhance our forested landscape. The sale of fuelwood is an important economic driver within our rural communities and is a cost effective heating source used by tens of thousands of rural landowners.
With well thought-out strategic planning, the use of fuelwood for home heating can continue to play a key role in the green energy strategy for the 21st century and assist our need to reduce fossil fuel dependency.
S. Stormont: Pellet plant powers up
Cornwall Standard-Freeholder / Kevin Lajoie / 12 February 2009
Ingleside could soon become home to Canada's largest wood pellet production facility.
Canadian Bio Pellet Inc. (CBP) has set its sights on the Ingleside industrial park as the location for a new $80-million development, which could create anywhere from 85 to 110 direct jobs and numerous spin-offs in the forestry and freight sectors.
