The latest news about Maine lakes and ponds.

Maine's Potential in Pellet Industry gets Double Boost

January 05, 2010 - BETHEL -- An Austrian company is set to begin assembling high-technology wood pellet boilers in Bethel next month, an enterprise that could help expand Maine's young pellet-fuels industry.

Herbert Ortner, a pioneer in European wood pellets and the founder of koFEN Pellet Heating, has formed Maine Eco Pellet Heating LLC to launch his company into the U.S. market.

The operation will be based in a warehouse at Maine Energy Systems, which recently began selling the koFEN unit and promotes pellet-fired central heating. It will be Maine's first pellet-boiler assembly plant.

Before tax credits, each highly automated boiler costs about $16,000, including installation and pellet storage.

The koFEN boilers also will be sold by ReVision Heat LLC of Portland. A joint venture of ReVision Energy and Corinth Wood Pellets, the company will install and service the boilers and provide bulk pellet delivery around Bangor and Portland.

Taken together, the developments could further the vision of an integrated, local industry that uses Maine's vast forest-product resources to produce both heating equipment and a renewable-energy fuel. The participants see an opportunity to switch thousands of New England homes and businesses from oil heat to wood pellets.

koFEN has sold 30,000 units in 10 European countries. Ortner will be in Maine this month to discuss the evolution of pellet heat technology in Europe and its potential for New England. He will make public presentations at Eastern Maine Community College in Bangor on Jan. 19 and the University of Southern Maine on Jan. 21.

Hosting an assembly plant could be the first step to setting up a true manufacturing operation in Maine, participants say. But that depends on a few critical economic assumptions.

Low oil prices, the dismal economy and the absence of robust government incentives to cut the purchase cost for customers are holding back the industry's growth, said Dutch Dresser, a partner in Maine Energy Systems.

Dresser expects that no more than 200 boilers will be assembled this year in Bethel, creating only a few new jobs.

Dresser's perspective comes from two years of experience with Maine Energy Systems, a startup led by Les Otten, a Bethel entrepreneur who is running for governor. The company remains unprofitable, despite a strong debut with an earlier European boiler. If heating oil prices jump again to $4 a gallon, as they did in 2008, the picture could change, Dresser said.

"A couple of years ago, we couldn't answer the phone fast enough," he said.

The boiler is fueled by an automated pellet-feed system. It is self-cleaning during operation, with ash compressed into a storage bin for periodic removal.

The company installed one recently at Gould Academy in Bethel. Another is going into the public works garage in Gardiner.

Schools and municipal buildings are target markets for the boilers, thanks to government incentives.

A single boiler and pellet storage costs $12,000 to $20,000, he said. A typical home may burn eight tons a year. ReVision plans to sell pellets in bulk for $220 a ton. That price compares to oil at about $2 a gallon, the company says.

ReVision will focus on the heavily populated Portland and Bangor areas to save on pellet delivery costs. It will make its primary push in Bangor, to take advantage of its partnership with nearby Corinth Wood Pellets.

Corinth runs one of two Maine pellet plants. Another is under construction. Two others were destroyed by fires last year, but at least one is being rebuilt.

The investments by Maine Eco Pellet and ReVision represent a key stage in the development of the state's pellet industry, said Bill Bell, executive director of the Maine Pellet Fuels Association.

In addition to oil prices, government incentives to help offset the cost of converting to wood heat are critical, said Bell and Dresser. "The industry will develop a lot faster with a little bit of a push," Bell said.

By TUX TURKEL, Staff Writer, Portland Press Herald, January 5, 2010


Lakes:
Regions: Sebago


Print this story

Email this story

return to Lake News