UW-Green Bay EMBI, partners team up for Heating the Midwest conference
This winter, propane prices spiked to $6.67 per gallon, with many households and businesses paying prices nearly double the cost of a year ago. Those who were affected are looking for answers and ways to avoid a repeat of this crisis next heating season. The propane energy crisis will be addressed during the third annual Heating the Midwest Conference, April 30 and May 1, 2014 in at the Radisson Hotel & Conference Center Green Bay.
Hosted by the Environmental Management and Business Institute (EMBI) at UW-Green Bay, the Oneida Energy Team and the Heating the Midwest organization, the conference and expo will feature an indoor and outdoor exposition area showcasing more than 30 vendors, businesses and organizations that will be demonstrating the latest advancements in the biomass industry.
One of the keynote speakers at the Heating the Midwest conference will talk about the winter crisis in a presentation called “When Energy Markets Go Crazy!” Attendees will learn what happened in the propane market this winter from a top state energy analyst, Holly O’Higgins of the Wisconsin State Energy Office. The author of “Wisconsin Energy Statistics,” O’Higgins will compare pricing of heating fuels, explore how biomass marketers can gain a larger share of a volatile heating fuel market, and take a look at prices and supply of space-heating fuels for the summer and next winter.
“Each year, this conference brings together leaders of the woody and agricultural biomass industry,” said Brian Brashaw, Program Director for the University of Minnesota-Duluth’s Natural Resources Research Institute and Chair of the Heating the Midwest Steering Committee. “The businesses and organizations that come together are interested in supporting and expanding the use of biomass for heat and power in the region.”
For registration, program and exhibitor information, visit www.heatingthemidwest.org.
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Additional Conference Information:
Additional keynote speakers confirmed for the Heating the Midwest conference include Scott Nichols, President of Tarm Biomass, whose presentation is titled “Midwest Biomass Thermal Energy: Opportunities and Challenges Ahead”; Dan Wilson, Chairman of the Biomass Thermal Energy Council and Vice President of Wilson Engineering Services, who will speak on “Effective Strategies to Increase Biomass Thermal in the Midwest”; and Josh Kaurich, Division Manager of H & H Energy Management, who will speak about Biomass “Energy Assessment and Integration Opportunities.”
Conference participants may choose to attend pre-conference tours of local biomass energy systems. The tours on April 29 will include Greenwood Energy, a biomass pellet producer in Green Bay; Schroeder Floral, a Green Bay greenhouse heated with woody biomass; Marth Companies in Peshtigo, a pellet producer with a biomass heating system; and Krueger Lumber in Valders, which has a biomass heated facility and dry-kiln system as part of a hardwood sawmill.
A special Biomass Heating Expo will be offered during the Heating the Midwest event, offering residents and businesses of the multi-county area surrounding Green Bay the opportunity to enter the expo area at no cost to see and hear about the latest in technologies. The event will run from 1:30 – 8:30 pm on Wednesday, April 30. This portion of the event is free to the public. http://heatingthemidwest.org/wp-content/uploads//ThermalHeatingFairBrochure.pdf.
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About the Conference Hosts
The Environmental Management and Business Institute (EMBI) at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay: EMBI strives to work with public- and private-sector partners throughout the New North region to make the region synonymous with sustainability and environmental leadership.
Oneida Energy Team – It is the Oneida Energy Team’s quest to reduce energy usage, find better options and opportunities to improve renewable energy, building and operations, transportation and residential facilities on the reservation.
About Heating the Midwest
Heating the Midwest (HTM) is a group of volunteers with a serious interest in growing awareness and usage of biomass thermal fuel for heat in the Midwest. The HTM mission is: “To advance biomass thermal heating in the Midwest for a more sustainable future, while improving the economic, environmental and social well-being of the region.“ Driven and directed by a steering committee, Heating the Midwest includes industry, government, nonprofit organizations and university and tribal representatives. It is a group of biomass advocates working to promote biomass to a larger constituency, including government policy makers and entities, consumers and businesses in the Midwest. More information is available at www.heatingthemidwest.org.
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