State Looks to Cut Emissions from Heating with Wood

[GrizG]

Another article that might be of interest....

https://kingstonwire.com/news/2022/1/30/state-looks-to-cut-emissions-from-heating-with-wood/524onO


By Max Freebern

KINGSTON - On a cold winter day, few things are more appealing than a nice crackling fire in either a hearth or a wood stove. And many still rely on wood to heat their homes, especially in the more remote areas of Ulster, where electricity can and does go out more often.

But state officials say reducing the volume of wood smoke in New York could improve the health of residents and help lower the state’s carbon footprint.

During its October 2020 meeting, the New York State Climate Action Council discussed the benefits of reducing the state's wood consumption by 40 percent to meet the state’s climate and air quality goals.

These goals were detailed in the state’s 2019 Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act. The law mandated that the Climate Action Council find strategies to reduce the state’s greenhouse gas emissions by 40 percent compared to 1990 levels by 2030. The state aims to achieve “net-zero greenhouse gas emissions,” where the volume of greenhouse gasses released is negligible compared to their reduction, by 2050.

According to the council’s 2021 Draft Scoping Plan, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency estimated that the volume of PM2.5 emissions (polluting particles two and a half microns or less in width, released by wood burning) coming from residential wood heating in New York was greater than that from other sources of residential and commercial power generation combined, even though only 2 percent of New York homes use wood heating.

The presence of PM2.5 particles is linked to symptoms like chest pain and heart rhythm changes, and could increase the risk of heart attacks, strokes, and asthma, according to the scoping plan. Elderly folks, children and low-income residents are particularly vulnerable to wood smoke exposure, the document continued. The council claims 40 percent of the benefits that could come from the plan are associated with reducing wood smoke.
Julie Noble, Kingston’s environmental education and sustainability coordinator, is working with Bard College and the Kingston Conservation Advisory Council (KCAC) on the “Kingston Air Quality Initiative,” which monitors the PM2.5 levels at the neighborhood scale.

On the City of Kingston website, under “Air Quality and Wood burning,” the KCAC said that using wood for heating is one of the dirtiest ways to stay warm. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration data, it was estimated that 1,573.63 tons of wood was used to fuel Kingston homes in 2010. This created 193 tons of “carbon dioxide equivalent” emissions; i.e. even though what comes out of Kingston chimneys is not all CO2, combined, it has the same effect as emitting 193 tons of carbon dioxide.

That said, reducing the amount of wood burned in Kingston isn’t the city’s priority, Noble explained.

“Per our 2010 greenhouse gas emission inventory we determined that fewer than 70 homes in Kingston use wood as their primary source of heat so the focus is really on education and electrification,” Noble wrote in an email.

In a December KCAC meeting, Bard Professor Eli Dueker explained that PM2.5 emissions are often caused when wood fuel is not fully burnt before the smoke is released. Common sources for PM2.5 emissions included campfires, brush fires and wood stoves. Bard will work with Kingston to make air-quality data available for public education while the city works to promote the use of electric for both heating and vehicles.

The state is preparing for how a cut in wood consumption may impact the economy and hopes to add thousands of jobs in new clean-energy industries. As required by the Climate Act, the Just Transition Working Group conducted a study to examine the number of jobs that would be created to combat climate change and the training required for the new workforce, according to a New York State Energy Research & Development Authority spokesperson. Initial findings reveal that New York stands to see 10 new jobs for every potential lost job in sectors involving conventional heating and fuel. This middle-wage positions, the spokesperson continued.could result in hundreds of thousands of new jobs for the state by 2030 and beyond, with the largest pay increases coming from middle-wage positions, the spokesperson continued.

NYSERDA has already committed nearly $120 million to support existing workforce development and training initiatives to prepare over 40,000 New Yorkers for emerging clean-energy jobs and to help businesses find qualified workers, according to the spokesperson. NYSERDA is also funding internships and on-the-job training for folks looking to join the clean energy workforce. One example was the $6 million Climate Justice Fellowships initiative that specifically targeted disadvantaged communities.
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As an aside, perhaps you can consider subscribing to the Kingston Wire. They have a collection of skilled veteran reporters who bring more depth to issues than we've generally been seeing in the local press in recent years.

[Appleman]

Where do these people think their electricity comes from?

[DXT]

I couldn’t finish reading it, I found myself gassing up the jonsered and cutting firewood.
Sorry, but….they don’t like fossil fuels, they don’t like wood, but they love solar panels and windmills that require mining operations with equipment that uses fossil fuels….oh I forgot to mention that they don’t like nuclear power plants, but they like to plug those electric cars in….sorry for the rant, but F these idiots. I’m going out to mix 2 stroke gas and cut firewood 🤬

[Tippin'Scales]

I couldn’t finish reading it, I found myself gassing up the jonsered and cutting firewood.
Sorry, but….they don’t like fossil fuels, they don’t like wood, but they love solar panels and windmills that require mining operations with equipment that uses fossil fuels….oh I forgot to mention that they don’t like nuclear power plants, but they like to plug those electric cars in….sorry for the rant, but F these idiots. I’m going out to mix 2 stroke gas and cut firewood 🤬

Renewable energy is NOT self sustainable without government subsidies,  it equals power grab by politicians pushing all this green energy and electric vehicle bulloooo!

[GrizG]

I couldn’t finish reading it, I found myself gassing up the jonsered and cutting firewood.
Sorry, but….they don’t like fossil fuels, they don’t like wood, but they love solar panels and windmills that require mining operations with equipment that uses fossil fuels….oh I forgot to mention that they don’t like nuclear power plants, but they like to plug those electric cars in….sorry for the rant, but F these idiots. I’m going out to mix 2 stroke gas and cut firewood 🤬

Don't forget to sharpen the chain... cut more with less stress! 

[MUSKRAT]

Just loaded my wood boiler ..... 

[Appleman]

I was left speechless last week when a friend told me that the electric vehicle charging station was free to use at the Highland NY rail trail parking area. Is this the case at the traffic circle in Kingston as well?  Free energy for the taking!  Never thought that could happen -- who the heck is paying that bill because i'm betting that CH has a meter on it.  Those solar units look wonderful on the creek flats across from Walmart in Napanoch on some once very productive farmland that will never grow another crop--I hope they at least use some better choices for their power farms than prime farmland.     

[GrizG]

I was left speechless last week when a friend told me that the electric vehicle charging station was free to use at the Highland NY rail trail parking area. Is this the case at the traffic circle in Kingston as well?  Free energy for the taking!  Never thought that could happen -- who the heck is paying that bill because i'm betting that CH has a meter on it.  Those solar units look wonderful on the creek flats across from Walmart in Napanoch on some once very productive farmland that will never grow another crop--I hope they at least use some better choices for their power farms than prime farmland.   

The short answer is, It depends.

In Kingston there are charging stations on county property and the county is footing the bill. There are some on city property and the electric is covered by a group (Rotary, Chamber of Commerce??? I don't recall who exactly off hand). There are fee based Tesla charging stations at the Quick Chek near the Thruway roundabout.

The city is installing more charging stations with funding from DEC’s Municipal Zero-Emission Vehicle program. At this point it sounds to me like the city will be paying for the power up front and submitting reimbursement requests to the DEC program. However, I had to read between the lines on the reimbursement thing as it wasn't explicitly spelled out.

There are charging stations being installed in the Ulster Savings Bank parking lot on Schwenk Dr. There will also be charging stations at the O&W Building (former Daily Freeman building) on Hurley Ave. as part of the renovations there.  Indications are that they will both be fee based services. There are likely other facilities in Kingston with which I'm not familiar.

For the most part most of these facilities are providing subsidized service in some form or fashion. This as the full cost of the facilities and power are not being covered by the fees charged, if any. 

Compare that to a close associate of mine who has a Tesla as do her two children when they visit. She has a Tesla charging station at her home and paid out of pocket for the hardware, wiring, and electrician. She also has a solar array on her house. Thus far the array has produced enough energy to run the house and charge the car with only the base CH charge after net metering.

I provide her with at least 2-3 cords of firewood for her fireplace each year... She enjoys her fireplace... 

[Tippin'Scales]

I was left speechless last week when a friend told me that the electric vehicle charging station was free to use at the Highland NY rail trail parking area. Is this the case at the traffic circle in Kingston as well?  Free energy for the taking!  Never thought that could happen -- who the heck is paying that bill because i'm betting that CH has a meter on it.  Those solar units look wonderful on the creek flats across from Walmart in Napanoch on some once very productive farmland that will never grow another crop--I hope they at least use some better choices for their power farms than prime farmland.   

The short answer is, It depends.

In Kingston there are charging stations on county property and the county is footing the bill. There are some on city property and the electric is covered by a group (Rotary, Chamber of Commerce??? I don't recall who exactly off hand). There are fee based Tesla charging stations at the Quick Chek near the Thruway roundabout.

The city is installing more charging stations with funding from DEC’s Municipal Zero-Emission Vehicle program. At this point it sounds to me like the city will be paying for the power up front and submitting reimbursement requests to the DEC program. However, I had to read between the lines on the reimbursement thing as it wasn't explicitly spelled out.

There are charging stations being installed in the Ulster Savings Bank parking lot on Schwenk Dr. There will also be charging stations at the O&W Building (former Daily Freeman building) on Hurley Ave. as part of the renovations there.  Indications are that they will both be fee based services. There are likely other facilities in Kingston with which I'm not familiar.

For the most part most of these facilities are providing subsidized service in some form or fashion. This as the full cost of the facilities and power are not being covered by the fees charged, if any. 

Compare that to a close associate of mine who has a Tesla as do her two children when they visit. She has a Tesla charging station at her home and paid out of pocket for the hardware, wiring, and electrician. She also has a solar array on her house. Thus far the array has produced enough energy to run the house and charge the car with only the base CH charge after net metering.

I provide her with at least 2-3 cords of firewood for her fireplace each year... She enjoys her fireplace... 

If your associate paid out of pocket for solar panels, car charging station and whatever else needed I'd say a $25-30,000 investment up front was made. If financed like many average people do that's a $300 payment per month on top of CH base fees and the premium costs of multiple electric vehicles.  I see no benefit of Return on investment with thus green energy initiatives without governments subsidies. 

[DXT]

I couldn’t finish reading it, I found myself gassing up the jonsered and cutting firewood.
Sorry, but….they don’t like fossil fuels, they don’t like wood, but they love solar panels and windmills that require mining operations with equipment that uses fossil fuels….oh I forgot to mention that they don’t like nuclear power plants, but they like to plug those electric cars in….sorry for the rant, but F these idiots. I’m going out to mix 2 stroke gas and cut firewood 🤬

Don't forget to sharpen the chain... cut more with less stress! 

🤣Always have a sharp chain, if she’s not spitting chips, she’s gonna get the file.
On a serious note, it’s ok for a certain amount of solar and electric vehicles, BUT this whole push to be zero emissions is not realistic. It’s nothing more than another political move by politicians who have been lobbied by “Green energy “ .
No if you excuse me back to cutting firewood 🤪🙀🤣🤣

[Appleman]

I was left speechless last week when a friend told me that the electric vehicle charging station was free to use at the Highland NY rail trail parking area. Is this the case at the traffic circle in Kingston as well?  Free energy for the taking!  Never thought that could happen -- who the heck is paying that bill because i'm betting that CH has a meter on it.  Those solar units look wonderful on the creek flats across from Walmart in Napanoch on some once very productive farmland that will never grow another crop--I hope they at least use some better choices for their power farms than prime farmland.   

The short answer is, It depends.

In Kingston there are charging stations on county property and the county is footing the bill. There are some on city property and the electric is covered by a group (Rotary, Chamber of Commerce??? I don't recall who exactly off hand). There are fee based Tesla charging stations at the Quick Chek near the Thruway roundabout.

The city is installing more charging stations with funding from DEC’s Municipal Zero-Emission Vehicle program. At this point it sounds to me like the city will be paying for the power up front and submitting reimbursement requests to the DEC program. However, I had to read between the lines on the reimbursement thing as it wasn't explicitly spelled out.

There are charging stations being installed in the Ulster Savings Bank parking lot on Schwenk Dr. There will also be charging stations at the O&W Building (former Daily Freeman building) on Hurley Ave. as part of the renovations there.  Indications are that they will both be fee based services. There are likely other facilities in Kingston with which I'm not familiar.

For the most part most of these facilities are providing subsidized service in some form or fashion. This as the full cost of the facilities and power are not being covered by the fees charged, if any. 

Compare that to a close associate of mine who has a Tesla as do her two children when they visit. She has a Tesla charging station at her home and paid out of pocket for the hardware, wiring, and electrician. She also has a solar array on her house. Thus far the array has produced enough energy to run the house and charge the car with only the base CH charge after net metering.

I provide her with at least 2-3 cords of firewood for her fireplace each year... She enjoys her fireplace... 

The town is paying, the city is paying, the state is paying, the federal government is paying....HOGWASH!....(how can all of these forms of government pay when they are broke--what I call having to print $ to pay your bills) it all comes down to the taxpayer is paying.  I'm all for "green energy" as long as the end user is paying.  I'm all for solar farms but let's think some before we fill up the fields that our food comes from.  Speaking of farming with the new 40 hr work week for ag in NY passed last week get ready to see your food bill go up.  Better plan now for a vegetable garden in 22.

[ATS1755]

https://www.whec.com/news/fact-check-no-more-firewood-in-new-york/6350585/#:~:text=Viccaro%20wants%20to%20make%20it,signed%20into%20law%20in%202019.

 Accordingly to the web page above the DEC spokes person says the DEC has no intention on banning wood to heat your homes. will see!

[GrizG]

If your associate paid out of pocket for solar panels, car charging station and whatever else needed I'd say a $25-30,000 investment up front was made. If financed like many average people do that's a $300 payment per month on top of CH base fees and the premium costs of multiple electric vehicles.  I see no benefit of Return on investment with thus green energy initiatives without governments subsidies.

She paid up front and took all the tax and credit benefits... The Tesla was a gift from her son. 

The short story is that with a self-owned solar installation you pretty much pay for most if not all of your future electricity up front. The length of the payback period can be especially long if you finance the purchase due to the interest expense. You also have to hope the equipment lasts at least as long as the loans without major repairs or replacement. You also have to hope that the panels aren't buried under snow for the whole winter--my next door neighbor's panels haven't seen the sun since the storm two weeks ago.  Worst case scenario, you also have to hope your estate can pay it off if the debt outlasts you. I know of one case where over $32K was still owed at the time of death and there were not enough liquid assets to pay it off. To not lose the property relatives paid it off.

The opportunity costs associated with manufacturing, installing, maintaining, and disposing of the solar equipment, especially with battery back up, is ignored too.  Banning new Natural Gas installations to force the adoption of electric hot water and heating, as NYC is doing, transfers the pollution of power generation to poorer and more rural areas. It is not unlike what a United Nations White Paper reported years ago in that rich nations export their pollution to poor nations...  At this point it looks like the only way to support the energy needs without NG or oil is nuclear... Small, modern, nuclear facilities located near metropolitan areas. This to minimize the environmental impacts of new transmission infrastructure. They look viable and they would stem the visual pollution and environmental impacts of wind and solar farms.

I agree that the ROI would likely be negative without the subsidies and in some cases even with them. This is especially true if your power consumption is low to begin with. There are opportunity costs and there is no free lunch despite the sales pitches. It's not just solar that plays fast and lose with their pitches. CH is deceptive with their natural gas pitches too as they don't mention the meter charges and such in their presentation, only the NG itself. When I looked into NG I determined that it would cost me more than fuel oil even with equipment maintenance due to those monthly charges. My whole house renovation included a new oil fired furnace, windows, a lot more insulation, and tightening up the envelope. I use between 1/4 and 1/3 the amount of fuel oil now as compared to when I bought the "worst house in the neighborhood" for a pittance. Under CH's pitch the meter charges alone put me upside down compared to fuel oil and when the cost of new NG equipment was included I'd be way upside.

Unfortunately many drink the solar cool-aid without looking at all the opportunity costs. I've had discussions about this with folks from some of the environmental groups in the Hudson Valley. I had responses like "Hopefully by the the time all the solar infrastructure being installed now needs to be replaced they'll have figured out how to recycle it and have better technology." They ignore the loss of farmland, forest, and wildlife habitat to the solar farm installations and transmission lines, the visual pollution, and the environmental and health damage incurred in sourcing the raw materials for the arrays and batteries. They become agitated in those discussions...

[GrizG]

The town is paying, the city is paying, the state is paying, the federal government is paying....HOGWASH!....(how can all of these forms of government pay when they are broke--what I call having to print $ to pay your bills) it all comes down to the taxpayer is paying.  I'm all for "green energy" as long as the end user is paying.  I'm all for solar farms but let's think some before we fill up the fields that our food comes from.  Speaking of farming with the new 40 hr work week for ag in NY passed last week get ready to see your food bill go up.  Better plan now for a vegetable garden in 22.

Yup... under these policies the redistribution of wealth to those rich enough to buy the latest and greatest technology will continue and accelerate. Me... I put in new raised beds two years ago after not having a vegetable garden for about 20 years--the kids needed room to play!

[GrizG]

https://www.whec.com/news/fact-check-no-more-firewood-in-new-york/6350585/#:~:text=Viccaro%20wants%20to%20make%20it,signed%20into%20law%20in%202019.

 Accordingly to the web page above the DEC spokes person says the DEC has no intention on banning wood to heat your homes. will see!

 I live by this rule:  "Believe non of what you hear and half of what you see".

Sounds a lot like the pro-gun-control speak we've been hearing for years!