Feeding the fire

Don’t discount firewood as renewable energy source

By Jim Redden

The Portland Tribune, Jan 14, 2010

A GHP Group wood stove is in full fire for emissions sampling at OMNI-Test, a Portland lab that tests wood stoves for compliance with EPA regulations.

L.E. BASKOW / PAMPLIN MEDIA GROUP PHOTO

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In our rush to develop renewable energy sources, are we overlooking an old-fashioned standby — firewood?

In recent years a great deal of attention has been paid to solar panels and wind turbines. But firewood is also a sustainable source of energy, says Mark Havel, a local engineer who owns 25 acres of forest land.

“Forests can and should be operated sustainably,” says Havel, whose family has planted more than 23,000 trees on its acreage during the past 30 years. “Every year they produce a bounty we can use. New trees start to grow, and old ones die and fall.”

Most firewood comes as a byproduct from other forest operations, says John Gulland, a Canadian environmental writer who operates the woodheat.org Web site.

“Economics mitigate against clear-cutting for firewood,” Gulland says.

Both the state and federal governments formally recognize wood-burning stoves as a renewable energy source. Both offer tax credits for the purchase and installation of new high-efficiency stoves — up to $300 from the state and up to $1,500 from the federal government.

Wood smoke does pose potential environmental problems, admits John Frankel, president of the Oregon Hearth, Patio and Barbecue Association, a trade group for the fireplace industry. Smoke contains tiny particles that can get lodged deep in the lungs, leading to serious respiratory problems, asthma attacks, heart problems and even premature death.

But Frankel says the federal government has addressed this problem by requiring all new stoves sold in the country to meet strict U.S. Environmental Protection Agency emissions standards. The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality has similar rules.

The rules do not apply to smoke from fireplaces, burn barrels, slash piles and some small wood stoves used primarily for cooking.

Pellet stoves also are officially recognized as a renewable energy source. They burn a fuel made from wood byproducts, which might otherwise be treated as waste material. Pellet stoves also qualify for the federal and state tax credits and are subject to EPA and DEQ emissions regulations.

Nowadays environmentalists can heat with wood guilt-free.

Other environmental factors

Yes, burning wood releases carbon dioxide or CO2, a greenhouse gas. But, as Havel sees it, the CO2 would be released anyway when the tree dies and rots. In contrast, coal and natural gas would remain undisturbed in the ground if they were not mined and burned. “What’s not sustainable is fossil fuel,” Havel says.

“Firewood is almost carbon neutral, especially if it’s cut close to where it’s burned,” Frankel says.

PAMPLIN MEDIA GROUP PHOTO: L.E. BASKOW • Sebastian Button of OMNI-Test stokes a GHP Group wood stove for emissions sampling.

Another environmental issue to be considered is the source of your firewood. Although most firewood is harvested within the region, some is shipped in from other states and Canada and Mexico. This is of great concern to the Oregon Department of Agriculture, which has discovered invasive and potentially harmful insects in some of the wood from out of state.

“We advise people to make sure their firewood is harvested locally and to not bring firewood with them when they go out of state,” says Helmut Rogg, supervisor of the agricultural department’s Insect Pest Prevention and Management Program.

The department monitors wood imported from other countries but lacks the authority to regulate wood from other states. Rogg has found bundled wood sold at big-box stores that came from other states and contained invasive insect species.

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