Spotlight Sessions Illuminate Opportunities and Challenges

The theme of the HEAT Show was “Fueling America’s Future, Together.” NEFI planners then organized each day around themes related to the Show’s vision, with “Summit Spotlight” sessions that provided greater insight into the issues facing the liquid fuels industry and the need for the resolution that would be presented (and ratified) at Friday’s Industry Summit VII.

Wednesday’s theme was “Energy Choice and Affordability” and included the Keynote Address by U.S. Representative Claudia Tenney (R- NY24) followed by a panel discussion on the same topic, and then an update on Clean Heat Standards. Thursday’s topic was “Future-Proofing Your Business” with a presentation on the future of biofuels. Friday would be the culmination of the HEAT Show at the Industry Summit under the theme, “One Industry, United.”

Keynote Address: U.S. Representative Claudia Tenney (R-NY24)

The HEAT Show opened Wednesday morning with a Keynote Address by U.S. Representative Claudia Tenney. Representative Tenney was introduced as an advocate for “pragmatic, pro-business, pro-consumer policies.” She spoke on the need for consumer choice on energy, her concerns about electric mandates and rising prices, and the value of combining high efficiency furnaces and boilers with advanced heat pumps, enabling consumers to “use all available fuel sources.”

Tenney continued by noting that her district in Northern New York is the largest agricultural area in the Northeast and the fifth largest dairy producing district in the country. As a small business owner herself, and representing small and medium sized businesses in the state, she understands that “energy is the number one issue” in New York and many states across the country.

To that end, Tenney said she was using her position on the Ways and Means Committee to finalize and strengthen 45Z legislation, as it offers practical financial solutions for farmers who produce biomass feedstocks, reduces the country’s dependence on foreign entities, and creates secure, good paying jobs.

She continued with a comments about her promotion of workforce development and working in New York to have local diplomas get accredited, so students are not required to earn a Regents diploma; and promoting and updating the federal Work Opportunity Tax Credit (WOTC).

Tenney concluded by speaking about the Trump administration’s tariff policies. “It is important that we get this issue resolved sooner rather than later,” she said, again noting that her district is along the Canadian border and has “huge” trading relationships that go back and forth. Tenney stated that she is working as part of group of representatives of regions along the northern border, and said, “I’d much rather we were trading with Canada than China.”

Panel Discussion: Energy Choice and Affordability

Immediately following Representative Tenney’s presentation, Jim Collura, NEFI President and CEO, moderated a panel discussion on Energy Choice and Affordability. What set this panel apart was the range of representatives from different sectors of the broader energy landscape.

The panelists were Brian Caudill, Managing Director, Governmental Affairs and Public Policy, American Gas Association; Liam Dotson, Manager of Government Affairs, National Energy and Fuels Institute; Renee Lani, General Counsel, American Public Gas Association; Lauren Medlin, Manager, Federal Legislative Affairs, National Propane Gas Association; Mark Valentini, Vice President of Legislative Affairs, Plumbing Heating Cooling Contractors Association; and Bob Wolfer, Manager, Government Relations, Bradford White.

Collura introduced the panel, saying, “We are pleased to welcome advocates from national associations that represent natural gas utilities, fuel dealers, HVAC contractors, service professionals, and manufacturers. In recent years, our organizations have worked together to defend fuel assistance, fight for consumer choice, and ensure consumers have access to affordable energy solutions. This collaboration remains vital. The last four years brought unprecedented challenges: aggressive electrification mandates at all levels of government, regulatory overreach, and attempts to eliminate heating oil, propane, and natural gas from the market entirely … When policymakers pick winners and losers in the home energy market, we all lose. But most importantly, American consumers lose. In today’s political environment, coalitions are often the best path to success. The more voices singing in the chorus, the louder the message, and the harder we are to ignore.”

What followed was an important, engaging discussion of the issues that face all the individuals represented by these panelists, and the work that each of them was doing, individually and as a coalition, to address many of the challenges.

The questions posed revolved around the LIHEAP crisis and the way forward; energy choice, EPCA reform, and ENERGY STAR®; the HVAC manufacturing industry’s response to shifting policies; how electrification advocates are using building codes to create fuel bans; and an update on New York’s bans on liquid- and gas-fired heating appliances in new construction.

Clean Heat Standard Update

Wednesday’s luncheon featured a State Clean Heat Standard Update, moderated by Michael Ferrante, President, Massachusetts Energy Marketers Association; with comments from Joe Uglietto, President, Diversified Energy Specialists and Matt Cota, Director of Government Affairs, Vermont Fuel Dealers Association.

In states across the Northeast, environmental officials are pursuing policies to reduce residential emissions. These regulations threaten the livelihood of heating oil and propane retailers but also present an opportunity for heating oil retailers to comply by providing renewable liquid biofuels to their customers.

Joe Uglietto reminded attendees that virtually every state in the Northeast has some sort of emissions reduction policy on the books or under consideration. Most notably were the legislation in Vermont and Massachusetts, as well as policies in New York and Rhode Island. Clean Heat Standards (CHS), he explained, require all heating oil, propane, and natural gas providers to reduce emissions and the number of gallons (or energy equivalent) sold each year. At the same time, certain technologies will reduce emissions and thus generate credits for the energy provider.

Matt Cota announced that the CHS standard was not actively being enforced in Vermont, because “it’s dead.” Cota noted that a supermajority in the Vermont legislature wanted a clean heat standard. His task was to get the best possible deal for the people he represents if it went through, or to stop it. He added that it was understood that heating oil dealers sell renewable fuels and install high efficiency heating equipment and heat pumps for air conditioning and shoulder seasons, and therefore “had a part to play, a seat at the table.”

The studies related to implementing the CHS in Vermont, which was released right before the last elections, revealed that it would increase the cost of heating oil by 58 cents per gallon or more. The project was “clearly too expensive for anyone to bear.” Cota and his team “fought discretely, in the trenches,” getting constituents to sign postcards that were sent to candidates. The election saw more gains by Republicans since 1992, “driven by a clean heat standard that would have cost a billion dollars, put small business owners out of business, and raise the cost of heating fuel.”

He added that the people who regulate the utilities and fuels, and were trying to push the CHS through, “could not grasp how complicated it is what fuel dealers do on a daily basis” such as getting the best possible price, make sure homes have oil and heat in the middle of the night, and noted that most lawmakers don’t even know what type of heat they use. The issue is not completely over, because Vermont’s Global Warming Reduction Act requires benchmarks be met by the end of the decade, or anyone can sue the state of Vermont to enforce a climate action plan be enforced.

Ferrante then spoke about Massachusetts’ Global Warming Solutions Act (GWSA) that was first passed in 2008. It has been amended over the years, making the GHG reductions more stringent and calculated on a sector-specific basis, and now requires net-zero emissions by 2050. The Massachusetts Supreme Court has ruled in favor of the GWSA twice over the years, making it “difficult to turn back.”

There are opportunities, Ferrante added, noting that providers of fossil fuels must install heat pumps or use increasing blends of biofuels, and those biofuels are considered a credit-worthy technology under the framework of the CHS. While liquid biofuels will be considered a clean technology, the official draft of the state’s CHS has not yet been released, and so they do not know the exact cost it will add to fuels.

The Bioheat® Fuel Movement: A Call to Lead, Unite & Deliver on the Promise of Clean Energy

Thursday morning’s events launched with a call to action by Paul Nazzaro of Advanced Fuel Solutions. Nazzaro’s inspiring story of the Bioheat® fuel movement was one of foresight and action.

“In 2050, when energy historians look back at how America decarbonized its heating sector, the question will be: who refused to give up on liquid fuels and proved innovation could come from within? The answer is the people in this industry — leaders who are writing the story of transformation today,” he began.

“For decades, heating oil and diesel were considered ‘good enough.’ They kept homes warm and fleets moving, but in a carbon-conscious world, ‘good enough’ no longer works. Greatness for our industry means evolving fuels that meet the environmental, technical, and consumer expectations of the next fifty years.”

Nazzaro considered the growth from pilot projects through 20 years of testing and validation, to “a revolution in basements and boiler rooms across the Northeast.” The research of those decade has provided the science, not speculation, of the benefits of biofuels.

“Heating oil was the proving ground, but the opportunity is far larger. Marine, rail, and aviation sectors face decarbonization pressures that liquid fuels are uniquely positioned to meet.” He described the difference between hard trends – these transportation options will rely on dense liquid fuels and face intensifying pressure to decarbonize – and soft trends – the fuels that will win will be determined by the choices we make today.

“Behind every gallon is a story. Farmers see the value of their crops multiplied through biodiesel. Families heat homes with renewable fuels that lower emissions without changing equipment. Dealers differentiate themselves as leaders, not laggards. Consumers, increasingly conscious of their carbon footprint, want to be part of the solution.

“That’s why storytelling matters as much as science. Numbers inform; stories inspire. Every dealer, distributor, policymaker, and farmer is a storyteller of progress,” he stated.

Nazzaro then issued a call to action, stating that the industry could “retreat into irrelevance, or seize relevance through leadership; sprint and collapse, or march with discipline and endurance; react to disruption, or anticipate and harness it.”

“Every gallon blended, every tank treated, every customer educated is a step in the 20-mile march toward relevance and leadership. If history is written by the doers, then this industry has the opportunity to be the author of one of America’s greatest energy stories. What was once impossible has become inevitable — because we chose to march, to anticipate, to tell the story, and to do the work. That is our legacy to claim,” he concluded.

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