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See an overview of renewable energy initiatives in New Hampshire. |
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| “Biomass” refers to living and recently living material—including
wood and agricultural residue, energy crops, manure and
even municipal waste—that can be used as fuel for heating,
cooling, lighting, transportation and to power machinery.
In the Northern Forest, “woody biomass” is the leading
source of biomass. |
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Regional Biomass Energy
Northeast winters are cold and summers are hot and humid. The
cost of energy for heat and power poses an ongoing challenge. In
the Northern Forest, sharp increases in fuel costs have spurred
new attention on “biomass” as a potential fuel source. Biomass
has the potential to impact the Northern Forest in positive ways
in regard to both consumption and production.
The Northern Forest Center has been working with other organizations since 2006 to assess the role and influence of biomass in the Northern Forest.
The Center is currently inventorying renewable energy activity in all four Northern Forest states, with a particular focus on woody biomass. Using “mind mapping” software, the Center is creating maps that illustrate existing projects, proposed projects, policy, funding, technical, and educational information related to renewable energy. The New Hampshire map is available now, while Maine, Vermont and New York maps are in progress. Read more about mapping renewable energy projects in the Northern Forest.
The New Hampshire Charitable Foundation, Northern Forest Center and White Mountains Community College sponsored an informational forum on Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Financing in November, 2009. Panelists included:
- Jack Ruderman, Director of Sustainable Energy, Public Utilities Commission
- Dick Ober, Chair, NH Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EESE) Board
- Joanne Morin, Director, NH Office of Energy and Planning
- Chris Recchia, Executive Director, Biomass Energy Resource Center
- Charles Willing, Rath, Attorney, Young and Pignatelli, P.C.
Both the presentations and a video
[streaming Quicktime video] of
the session are available.
In 2007, with regional biomass initiative partners the Biomass Energy
Resource Center (BERC) and the University
of New Hampshire Carsey Institute, the Center helped write a Biomass
Energy Action Plan [860 KB .PDF] for the region. The regional biomass initiative formed to explore the potential for woody biomass to provide an increased source of renewable, sustainable energy for the Northern Forest region.
Many of the ideas in the Action Plan sprang from the regional conference on biomass energy that initiative partners hosted. More than 75 specialists working in the forest industry, energy, economic development, finance and land conservation participated.
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