Frank Kvietok

1. REF rebate programs are important and have helped to grow the wood pellet boiler and bulk fuel business in NH, reducing dependence on imported oil and propane by millions of gallons (NH is second in the nation in its dependence on fossil heating fuels). Wood fuel in modern appliances is a local, renewable fuel and keeps millions of dollars annually circulating in the NH economy. 2. The highly competitive REF non-residential grant program has supported nearly 20 large commercial/institutional modern wood heating installations, including schools, hospitals, municipal and county buildings, businesses, senior residential communities and many others. These projects in turn generate RECs that help reduce ACP payments to the REF, as the fund was intended. 3. NH Dept of Energy should fully allocate available funding to authorized programs every year, so that the fund does not accumulate a balance that then becomes a target. Demand would be higher for these programs if NH Dept of Energy did more to promote them.