On October 16, the Governor’s Energy Office (GEO) announced the release of a updated winter heating guide intended to help Mainers save money and stay warm this winter. While the guide highlights heat pumps, even devoting an entire paragraph to them and an accompanying graphic, wood heating is barely mentioned. This omission is particularly concerning because wood heating remains a critical and cost-effective heating option for Mainers, but it was largely overlooked in the announcement.

This seems to be a trend. Over the past six months, we’ve counted 15 press releases from the governor’s office, GEO and the Efficiency Maine Trust mentioning heat pumps more than 120 times. None of these emissions favor wood heating.

While we have nothing against heat pumps as an alternative to fossil fuel heating (despite the often overlooked fact that much of the electricity they use is produced by fossil fuels), it would be nice to see local Maine heating fuels, wood and wood pellets are equally promoted.

During her two terms, Governor Janet Mills signed a number of legislative initiatives benefiting wood heating, which is a good thing for Mainers and the state’s forestry economy. We applaud her for this, but it would be beneficial to both Maine’s economy and our citizens’ pocketbooks if state government took a more proactive role in publicizing initiatives supported by the governor and promoting the advantages of wood heating.

Wood, unlike fossil fuels, is not carcinogenic and is a renewable, carbon-neutral energy source. The carbon released when wood or wood pellets burn is the same carbon that would naturally be released when a tree dies in the forest or wood chips are spread as mulch in your flower beds. In either case, Maine’s well-managed forests capture that carbon as new trees grow.

Compared to other heating options, wood and wood pellets are incredibly affordable. The Oct. 21 GEO report ranks firewood and wood pellets as cheaper than all other heating options, including heat pumps, with the occasional exception of natural gas, which is not generally available. than in urban areas of Maine and can in some cases cost less depending on fuel usage.

When comparing heat sources in Maine, it is also important to consider where the money for this fuel is going. Fossil fuel is not produced in Maine. Wood and wood pellets, on the other hand, are readily available locally and the dollars spent go directly into our state’s economy rather than out of state or overseas. At the same time, harnessing this renewable resource supports Maine’s jobs and rural communities while reducing reliance on fossil fuels and helping to combat climate change.

Wood heating is no longer limited to traditional hand-fired wood stoves, but includes modern, often automated, highly efficient wood and pellet boilers that do not require additional effort or involvement on the part of the owners than traditional oil boilers. Although heat pumps are in the spotlight, Efficiency Maine also offers incentives for qualified high-efficiency wood and wood pellet heating systems. High-efficiency, renewable wood energy applications are actually one of the recommendations in the Governor’s Climate Council’s plan to combat climate change and move Maine away from its reliance on fossil fuels.

If Maine is truly committed to achieving carbon neutrality in the future, promoting carbon neutral heating with Maine-sourced wood can accelerate that process for the benefit of all. We urge the Mills administration to ensure that as new heating technologies are promoted in Maine, it does not put all its eggs in one basket and recognizes that the oldest, most affordable option – wood heating – is not forgotten.

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