Martin Orio, president, Northeast Geothermal Professionals, Hampstead, N.H., assisted the bill’s approval by garnering interest and input from geothermal heat pump companies across the region.

“Though the legislation was aimed at the biomass industry, we saw its thermal energy credit as a big win for geothermal heat pumps as a renewable and an energy efficiency product,” said Orio.

The New Hampshire thermal energy program will be available to residential, commercial, and industrial projects. Qualified projects can use revenue generated from the sale of the RECs that they earn to finance capital costs, helping to cut payback time on investment. The Biomass Thermal Energy Council (BTEC) developed the concept and led efforts in support of the new law with the legislature, governor’s office, and the state public utilities commission. “Now is the time for other states to consider New Hampshire’s leadership. Thermal energy represents over one third of all energy consumed in America,” said Joseph Seymour, executive director, BTEC. “Energy policy that only focuses on electricity or transportation fuels ignores the tremendous economic and environmental benefits of displacing our dependence on fossil heating fuels with renewable energy.” According to BTEC, Arizona, Iowa, Massachusetts, Maryland, North Carolina, Ohio, Virginia, and Wisconsin have limited thermal provisions in their RPS programs.

The New Hampshire Public Utilities Commission will now forge administrative rulemaking to implement the law. Thermal projects will not qualify for the new REC incentives until after Jan. 1, 2013.

“Maryland, and now New Hampshire, recognizes the importance of thermal renewable energy to achieving the goals set forth by their RPS laws,” said Dougherty. “With this momentum, GEO actively urges other states to consider and pass such landmark measures into law across the nation.”

Publication date: 7/30/2012