With inflation at a 40-year high, the soaring cost of virtually everything, from groceries to gasoline, is a growing crisis.
The skyrocketing price of energy in particular is causing hardships by straining family budgets and increasing costs at every step of the supply chain. Mainers are also concerned about the rapidly rising cost of home heating oil. As of early June, the average price per gallon was $5.42, more than double what it was a year earlier. More than 60 percent of Maine homes use fuel oil, and a typical family will spend about $2,500 more per year at current prices.
Heating oil now costs $39.08 per million Btu. In contrast, wood pellets provide that same amount of heat for just $18.91. The only heat source that comes in at a lower cost is cord wood.
Wood energy is a growing part of the overall forest economy, creating good jobs and new opportunities for our forest workforce. I have long supported the use of wood energy to counter the effects of climate change and to improve our environment and our forest products industry. Pellets provide a market for low-grade, low-value wood that landowners routinely remove to promote healthy forests. Now, more than ever, wood pellets can help provide relief to the budgets of households and businesses…
Click here to read the full article in the Piscataquis Observer