Sustainable North

From the Associated Press July 14, 2008

PARIS, Maine - Mark Bancroft’s new pellet-burning furnace hasn’t been installed, but he’s already counting how much money he’ll save over his old oil-fired burner.

Instead of paying $5,000 for 1,100 gallons of heating oil in the coming year based on today’s record prices, he’ll spend $2,000 on about 8 tons of wood pellets. Even at a cost of more than $12,000, he thinks the new furnace will pay for itself within five years.