Oil Prices Falling, But Interest In Alternative Fuels High

Hartford Courant ^ | November 23, 2008 | THERESA SULLIVAN BARGER

[dbz77]

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Conquering The Cold Oil Prices Falling, But Interest In Alternative Fuels High

By THERESA SULLIVAN BARGER | Special To The Courant November 23, 2008

Glen Rokicki

Glen Rokicki peeks into the belly of a Vermont Casting wood-burning stove in the showroom of Fireside Supply in Hebron to check out the clean-burning aspects of BioBricks. (JOHN WOIKE / HARTFORD COURANT / November 20, 2008)

Even before heating oil spiked toward $5 a gallon last summer, businesses that sell wood and pellet stoves were busy. By early fall, some pellet and wood retailers were so flooded with calls that they stopped taking new customers.

Strapped consumers searching for cheaper alternatives to oil and gas were looking to supplement their heat with a wood or pellet stove.

The increase in demand and a dwindling supply of wood, pellets and wood-based bricks — which are made of compressed dried sawdust and other wood byproducts — caused prices to rise and consumers to scramble for them.

Steve Schindler, manager of Windsor Ace Hardware, said a pellet store owner called him looking to buy 80 tons of pellets that she planned to sell to her customers. She hadn't been able to find pellets in the wholesale market.

Since then, the price of oil has declined and the market for alternative wood fuels has cooled to normal levels. But interest remains high, and the fledgling industry appears to be growing.

[duckman]

I wonder how Hummer sales are doing with low gas prices?

[org.whodat]

Conquering The Cold Oil Prices Falling, But Interest In Alternative Fuels High

Everyone knows that line, "they will be back". blood sucking higher oil prices that is.

[dbz77]

Everyone knows that line, "they will be back". blood sucking higher oil prices that is.

Investments in alternative fuels are considered long-term; it would take decades for there to be profitable returns.

[hamburglar]

Conquering The Cold Oil Prices Falling, But Interest In Alternative Fuels High

"Interest" wont fuel my car

[ATOMIC_PUNK]

Strapped consumers searching for cheaper alternatives to oil and gas were looking to supplement their heat with a wood or pellet stove.

I have but one word of advice for consumers "INVENTION"

We are a country of great Thinkers and Inventors people have become complacent in thinking and doing we have been tagged "consumer" we should most of us be shuffling off that mantle and start Inventing and Testing new ideas on our own .

We have it in us great things to do yet we sit back and wait waiting rewards us with little more than envy ....

[Balding_Eagle]

Say what?

[Redbob]

"Text size: increase text sizedecrease text size"

It's really not necessary to copy EVERYthing on the page...

[RightWhale]

Interest in alternative fuels will increase proportionally as FedGov funds projects. $200 billion would generate a lot of interest.

[Vaduz]

FedGov funds projects=rubber bands will be called winder cars.

[SuziQ]

I'm glad folks are still looking for alternative fuels. There are a lot of smart people looking into it, and especially fuels NOT from foodstuffs. I wish someone would figure out a way to make gas from kudzu, the South could rise again! LOL!

Seriesly, if it will keep us from having to buy oil from foreign nations it's fine with me!