VBEG Meeting Registration Form

The Virginia Biomass Energy Group will hold its first quarterly meeting on February 11, 2009, at the Dept. of Forestry in the Fontaine Research Park of Charlottesville. Click here to jump past the agenda to the registration form, below.

Program Title: Biomass Energy in the Home: The Future is Now.

Focus: Advances in home use of biomass resources to include pellets, high efficiency home stoves and furnaces, torrefaction, district energy, etc. Concentration will be on proven technology and public policy issues.

For members, a short VBEG meeting will be convened after the main program, to review the group's internal administration and business matters.

Where: DOF Headquarters, 900 Natural Resources Dr., Charlottesville, VA
When: 8:30 am - 4:30 pm, Feb. 11, 2009

Meeting Agenda (as of Jan. 23, 2009):

8:30-9:00a Registration: Sponsor exhibits open (Coffee, etc., available throughout morning)

9:00-9:30a Keynote Address: Challenges in Reaching Virginia’s Biomass Energy Potential. R. Paul Orentas, Principal, ThinkBox Group, LLC, Member, Virginia Commission on Climate Change (click for bio)

9:30-10:00a European Environment for Biomass Energy. Legal, regulatory and technical landscape in Sweden. Lars Roth, Environmental Officer, Embassy of Sweden, Washington, DC. (click for bio)

10:00-10:30a Home-Use Biomass Energy Practices in North America. Dillon Franks, President & Partner, Relevant Ideas, LLC (click for bio)

10:30-11:00a Break, visit with sponsors' exhibits.

11:00a-11:30 Energy Cost Floors to Support Alternative Developments. Policies reviewed will include cap and trade, carbon taxes, renewable portfolio standards, and the current tax credit environment. Panel: Bryan Eckstein, Perrin Quarles Associates (click for bio); William F. Hall, III, Adjunct Professor of Engineering, UVA (click for bio)

11:30a-12:00p Efficiency Expands Limited Resources. Covering commercial and residential efficiencies, CHP, conservation pricing for utilities. Al Weed, Chairman, Public Policy Virginia (click for bio)

12:00p-1:00p Luncheon Speaker: The Hon. Michael M. Wood, US Ambassador to Sweden, 2006-2009. "Alternative Energy Technology in Sweden” (click for bio). (A boxed lunch will be served at the back of the room.)

1:00-1:30p Choose between visiting the exhibits and the following session:

The Chemistry of Bioenergy. An overview of common terms and concepts in bioenergy, e.g., aerobic, anaerobic, pyrolysis, torrefaction, syn gas, etc. Dr. Don Wells, Research Director (click for bio), Public Policy Virginia

1:30-2:15p Pellet Production and Challenges in Virginia. Bill Carden, CEO, Potomac Supply Corp.

2:15-3:00p Torrefaction. Walt Dickinson, CEO, Integro Earth Fuels, Asheville, NC (click for bio)

3:00-3:45p District Energy. CHP efficiencies, European experience, economies of scale, the Southern environment. Morris A. Pierce, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY (click for bio)

3:45-4:30p VBEG Organizational Meeting. Open to both current members and those who are interested in joining VBEG.

Yes, I would like to attend the Virginia Biomass Energy Group meeting on Feb. 11, 2009!

Registration fees are: General attendees $40.00, VBEG members and Students, $30.00. If you would like to become a member of VBEG at no charge, please contact Tatyanna Patten at tpatten@ppvir.org.

If you are paying for more than 1 person, please add the other attendees' names and e-mail addresses in the comment section, so that we have a way of contacting them with program information on record.

Payment options: Payment can be made using Paypal, which accepts both credit cards and e-transfers, or you may send a check to our office. Payment instructions will come up after you've submitted the registration form.