Task Force on Wood Heat Incentives
January 18, 2011
The Alliance for Green Heat is pleased to announce the formation of the Task Force on
Wood Heat Incentives. This Task Force will look at the environmental, social and energy
impacts of incentive programs to buy and change-out wood and pellet stoves. The Task
Force, which is still in formation, is funded in part by a grant from the USDA’s Wood
Education and Resource Center.
The Task Force will provide input on the crafting of a Toolkit on wood heat incentive
programs designed to assist policy makers in making sound wood heat decisions. The Task
Force will be comprised of 10- 12 representatives from the non-profit sector, stove
manufacturers, policy-makers, forestry experts and others. Some of the key issues the task
force will address are, 1. What should be the priorities of a wood stove rebate program (air
quality improvement, energy efficiency, reduction of greenhouse gasses, low income
assistance, etc)? 2. What sort of biomass appliances should be incentivized? 3. How
important are incentive programs to the biomass industry and to consumers? 4. What can
we learn from incentive programs for solar, wind and geothermal? 5. Which are the next
states most likely to initiative incentive programs? On how to participate or contribute to
this process, please contact Tatiana Butler at Tatiana@forgreenheat.org.
The current task force members are:
John Crouch
Director of Public Affairs
HPBA
John has worked for 20 years on Air Quality and Energy issues for the North American
trade association that represents all the manufacturers and retailers of Hearth Products,
and the trade association of Pellet fuel producers, the PFI. John has worked with state,
local, and tribal communities as they work to meet their clean air goals, and still continue
to use wood heat. For several years he has worked with USEPA and others on programs to
encourage woodstove change out programs. Most recently he was the industry lead on a
‘whole town’ change out in Libby Montana, which involved replacing all the woodstoves in
the town in a 3-year period. John resides in Sacramento, California.
Dan Henry
Chief Technical Officer
Hearth & Home Technologies
Dan Henry, chief technical officer for Hearth and Home Technologies, is a 30-year veteran
of the hearth industry, Henry was the co-founder of Aladdin Steel Products in Colville,
Wash., where he invented the Quadra-Fire® line of wood and pellet burning hearth
products. Aladdin was acquired by Hearth & Home Technologies in 1998 and since that
time, Henry has held leadership positions in research and development and advanced
technologies for the company. Henry is the chairman of the Government Affairs Committee
for the Hearth, Patio and Barbecue Association. He is on the board of directors of the Pellet
Fuel Institute (PFI) and co-chairs the PFI Fuel Standards Committee. He is a member of
Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty’s Clean Energy Technology Collaborative, and is
involved in the advisory committee for Washington State’s “Burn Smart, Burn Clean”
campaign under the auspices of the Washington State Department of Ecology.
Steve Nadel
Executive Director
American Council for Energy-Efficient Economy
Steve has been at ACEEE for 20 years serving as Deputy Director of the organization and
Director of ACEEE’s Utilities and Buildings programs prior to his promotion to Executive
Director in 2001. Steve has worked in the energy efficiency field for 30 years and has over
100 publications on energy-efficiency subjects. He has testified ten times before Congress
on energy efficiency subjects and also testified before multiple state legislatures. He was a
major contributor to national energy legislation passed by Congress. His current research
interests include utility-sector energy efficiency programs and policies, state and federal
energy and climate change policy, and appliance and equipment efficiency standards. He
has a M.S. in Energy Management from the New York Institute of Technology, and a M.A. in
Environmental Studies and B.A. in Government from Wesleyan University in Connecticut.
Charlie Niebling
New England Wood Pellet
BTEC Chairman
Charlie Niebling is General Manager with New England Wood Pellet LLC, the largest
manufacturer of wood pellet fuel in the northeastern US. He is responsible for wood
procurement for the company’s three plants, marketing, corporate communications, and
government and public affairs. From 1997 to 2005, Mr. Niebling was vice president for
policy and land management with the Society for the Protection of New Hampshire Forests,
a non-profit land conservation and environmental advocacy organization. Prior to
assuming this position, Mr. Niebling was a consultant for two years in the firm Innovative
Natural Resource Solutions, specializing in natural resource policy, research, advocacy and
public relations for corporate, government and non-profit clients. From 1987 to 1995, Mr.
Niebling served as executive director of the New Hampshire Timberland Owners
Association, the state’s forest landowner and forest industry trade organization. From
1984 to 1987 he worked as a research biologist with the U.S. Forest Service, Pacific
Southwest Forest & Range Experiment Station in Berkeley, CA. Mr. Niebling holds forestry
degrees from the University of Vermont (BS) and the Pennsylvania State University (MS).
Mr. Niebling is a licensed professional forester.
Jon Strimling
President & CEO
WoodPellets.com
Jon is the President of Woodpellets.com and has been in the wood pellet industry for more
than 15 years, with experience in manufacturing and distribution. His vision was to make
getting pellets from the mill to the customer more efficient and affordable, and thus
WoodPellets.com was born. Jon is from Massachusetts, and he attended MIT’s Sloan
School, where he earned an MS in Management and Engineering. Jon recently completed a
62-mile charity bike ride, and he loves spending time with his wife, son, and daughter.
Al Steele
Physical Scientist/Forest Products Specialist
USDA Forest Service
Al Steele is a Physical Scientist/Forest Products Specialist for the USDA Forest Service,
Northeastern Area State and Private Forestry. Located in Morgantown, West Virginia, Al
works to support the integration of utilization in Forest Service stewardship, urban
forestry, and forest health programs. In collaboration with state agencies, industry, nongovernmental organizations, academia and others, Al is often called upon to help develop
strategic solutions to a wide array of issues impacting the sustainable use of forest
resources. Recent efforts include examining the role of ecosystem services as a means to
improve the viability of forest land ownership, methods to address the spread of invasive
species via firewood, developing strategies to improve the ability of forest products
manufacturers to create jobs and remain internationally competitive, and providing
syntheses of information regarding rapidly evolving technical and policy issues associated
with biomass energy development, lifecycle assessment, and related issues. Prior to joining
the Forest Service, Al’s previous experiences include working for industry and Native
American tribes. His educational background includes degrees in forestry, engineering,
and an MBA.