The Biomass Thermal Energy Council (BTEC) strongly supports Senators Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), Mike Crapo (R-ID), and Mark Begich (D-AK) for introducing a bill that would help businesses across the country meet their heating needs with renewable biomass.

"We need to break our dependence on imported fossil fuels, and biomass, used effectively and sustainably, can help do that," said Senator Shaheen, the original sponsor of the bill. "The American Renewable Biomass Heating Act will help put highly efficient biomass on a level playing field with other renewable resources and create the incentives businesses need to invest in clean energy. There is no reason why the United States cannot and should not be a leader in clean energy technologies, including biomass."

The American Renewable Biomass Heating Act of 2010 (S. 3188), would establish a corporate tax credit equal to 30% of the installed cost of biomass-fueled heating (or cooling) systems for commercial or industrial applications. The credit would have no maximum and would be available for biomass thermal systems placed in service on or before December 31, 2013.

"This bipartisan bill will help create a market for commercial scale biomass thermal systems," said Charlie Niebling, Chairman of the Washington D.C.-based Biomass Thermal Energy Council. "It supports biomass thermal with the same incentive that already exists for every other renewable energy technology, including solar thermal and electric, wind, and geothermal. Businesses are some of our nation's biggest consumers of thermal energy, and S. 3188 will provide a powerful incentive to switch to biomass fuels that we produce here in America."

By offsetting fossil fuel use in heating sector with renewable biomass, this bill would reduce American consumption of foreign oil and other non-renewable fossil energy by millions of gallons and lower greenhouse gas emissions in the commercial and industrial sectors.
To qualify for the credit, biomass boilers and furnaces would be required to operate at greater than 75% efficiency and provide thermal energy for space heating, air conditioning, domestic hot water, or industrial process heat. Large scale biomass thermal systems have been widely deployed in Europe, where government incentives have played a vital role in helping reduce fossil energy and create new clean energy jobs.

Call or write your Senators today to urge their support for this important legislation. Visit www.senate.gov for contact information for your state.

###

About the Biomass Thermal Energy Council

The Biomass Thermal Energy Council (BTEC) is a non-profit association dedicated to advancing the use of biomass for heat and other thermal energy applications. BTEC engages in research, education, and public advocacy for the fast growing biomass thermal energy industry. www.biomassthermal.org