May 22, 2014 | By Barbara Vergetis Lundin

A renewed push to promote the economic and environmental benefits of biomass thermal energy is being felt in the Senate as U.S. Senator Angus King files the Biomass Thermal Utilization Act of 2013 (which King originally introduced) as an amendment to legislation pending before the Senate that would renew a series of tax relief measures.

"Thermal biomass energy systems, like wood pellet boilers, offer an efficient and affordable way to generate clean energy, and they deserve the same treatment as other sustainable energy technologies under our tax code," Senator King said. "As Congress considers extending tax relief provisions into next year, it should seize the opportunity to finally recognize thermal biomass energy for what it is -- a responsible and environmentally-friendly source of energy that can save people money and help create jobs."

The Biomass Thermal Utilization Act, or BTU Act, would amend the federal tax code to incentivize biomass energy -- as it already does for several other forms of renewable energy -- by adding biomass fuel property to the list of existing technologies that qualify for the residential renewable energy investment tax credit. Currently, a host of renewable energy technologies qualify for investment tax credits for capital costs incurred in residential and commercial installations. This legislation seeks to achieve parity between those renewable systems and thermal biomass systems.

The BTU Act would add biomass fuel property to the list of existing technologies that qualify for the residential renewable energy investment tax credit. To qualify, the biomass fuel property must operate at a thermal efficiency rate of at least 75 percent and be used to either heat space within the dwelling or heat water.

Further, open-loop biomass heating property would be added to the list of existing technologies that qualify for the commercial renewable energy investment tax credit in the federal tax code. In order to qualify, biomass heating property must operate at thermal output efficiencies of at least 65 percent and be used to generate heat, hot water, steam, or industrial process heat. The credit would be two tiered. For technologies that operate at thermal output efficiencies between 65 and 80 percent, the investment tax credit is limited to 15 percent of installed capital cost. Technologies operating at thermal output efficiencies greater than 80 percent would be eligible for the full 30 percent investment tax credit.

Advocates of thermal biomass systems say that nearly every cent of biomass heating investment is returned to the local economy, whereas 80 percent of every heating oil dollar is sent out of state.

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