Touting the green machine: public education a priority for biomass producers.

• Author: Kelly, Lindsay
• Position: GREEN REPORT

When it comes to popularizing the use of biomass as an alternative fuel, public education should be the industry's number one priority, says Dutch Dresser.

Dresser, a founding director of Maine Energy Systems in Bethel, Maine, has been visiting communities to spread word of biomass's environmental and economic advantages.

But because most outside the industry have little experience with the medium, it's an uphill climb.

"If I suggested to you that you could go out and buy a pellet boiler or a pellet furnace this afternoon, you'd likely have no idea (which model to buy), and it would be really easy for you to buy a bad experience," he said.

Dresser was one of several guest speakers during the Biomass North Annual General Meeting and Forum in North Bay in October.

Knowledge of solar and wind applications has become relatively mainstream, Dresser noted, but getting people to understand the benefits of using biomass--leftover forest product like branches, needles, and bark--to fuel their heating and energy systems continues to be a challenge.

There are myriad boilers and furnaces, and equally diverse forms of fuel, and getting the right combination for the right application is critical to success, Dresser said.

Despite the challenges, there are companies in Canada that are making headway.

Viessmann has been manufacturing heating systems out of its Waterloo location for 30 years. A highlight of its work is its Enderby, B.C., project, where in recent years it's installed a district heating project that's privately owned but serves commercial and residential clients.

Installed in 2012, the Fink machine is the first privately funded district energy system in...