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As more Mainers convert to wood pellet heat, oil dealers say that their fuel is cleaner and that wood threatens air quality.

By TUX TURKEL, Staff Writer July 23, 2008

Maine's air quality could worsen if thousands of homeowners switch from oil heat to wood pellet stoves, according to a study done for the state's oil dealers.

The study concludes that although pellet stoves burn much cleaner than older wood stoves, they generate more particle pollution and air toxics than oil furnaces.

Supporters of wood pellet heat reacted by questioning whether the study provides a fair picture of their fuel's environmental impact.

This debate is likely to grow, at a time when the demand for pellet stoves is so great that dealers are taking orders for next year. The discussion will focus on the potential cumulative impact of pellet heat in Maine.

The study, which was done for the Maine Oil Dealers Association, takes aim at a draft recommendation of the Governor's Wood-to-Energy Task Force. The group has suggested that 10 percent of Maine homes and small businesses could be heated with wood pellets.

This conversion, the task force has said, could help the state reduce its heavy dependence on costly oil heat and move toward cleaner-burning wood fuels.

Oil dealers, however, dispute what they see as an underlying message: that wood heat is clean and that oil heat is dirty. They've been circulating the study ahead of a task force meeting today at which air quality issues are expected to be discussed.

"Advocating wood energy is fine, but you can't tell untruths about oil," said Jamie Py, executive director of the oil dealers trade group.

Py's approach isn't appreciated by Les Otten, the task force chairman. The oil heat industry declined to participate in his group's deliberations, Otten said, and now is using selective information to mislead people about the benefits of wood.

"They're trying to protect their turf, protect their pocketbook, so people will continue to burn oil," he said.

Comparing the air-quality impact of oil and wood is complicated, experts say. Details matter, especially the age and efficiency of the heating equipment.

Many of these variables are unknown in Maine, they say, and the choices people are making to cope with today's energy crisis might be beyond the influence of policymakers.

The study was conducted by David Dixon of Dirigo Environmental Consultants. Dixon is a former air bureau manager at the Maine Department of Environmental Protection.

Dixon compared emissions from existing oil furnaces, older wood stoves and modern pellet stoves. The data is rough, Dixon said, and doesn't capture technological advances in both oil furnaces and wood stoves.

It also doesn't include central-heating pellet boilers, which are considered cleaner-burning than most other wood units, or the latest generation of outdoor wood boilers.

One conclusion of Dixon's report is that pellet stoves emit 10 times less particulate pollution than older wood stoves. However, pellet stoves still release 50 times more particles than oil furnaces, the report says.

Dixon found similar patterns for carbon monoxide, and said pellet stoves also compared poorly to oil furnaces in terms of air toxics, such as certain organic compounds.

Maine has good overall air quality and can handle more wood heat, Dixon said. But because pellet heat is new and fast-growing, he said, policymakers should examine the potential impact.

"If we're converting older wood stoves to pellet stoves, I'd go with that," Dixon said. "But oil furnaces to pellet stoves, that's a step backwards."

These are unfair assumptions, according to Otten.

The more likely trend is for people to convert from oil furnaces to central-heating pellet systems, he said. Otten recently started a company, Maine Energy Systems, that's marketing a high-efficiency, European pellet boiler.

Some critics say Otten's financial links to the pellet industry create a bias on the task force, a charge he dismisses.

Business aside, the task...