Home heating: Otten bets Mainers will warm to wood pellets

[jpak]

http://pressherald.mainetoday.com/story.php?id=186520&ac=PHnws

A Maine entrepreneur wants to convert tens of thousands of homes in the Northeast from oil heat to wood pellets through an ambitious new business venture.

Former ski resort owner Les Otten of Bethel is investing $10 million to launch Maine Energy Systems, a company that will manage all facets of the conversion, from importing European pellet boilers to installing the heating systems and delivering the fuel.

The company plans to begin installing systems this summer. It will focus first on homes in and around Lewiston- Auburn, Cumberland County, Augusta, Rockland and Oxford County. In five years, Otten hopes to switch 10 percent of Maine homes burning oil -- roughly 44,000 residences -- to wood pellets.

The company also plans to expand to New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts and New York.

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[madokie]

1. Something tells me it sure would make some of those neighborhoods smell better

during the heating months. I think it unfair that I can heat for the whole winter for less than 500 bucks and keep the house warm by using wood pellets so I would be willing to pay more if more people could get some of the benefits of that. Millions of tons of wood waste is under utilized each year. After all we are all in this together. This is definitely a step in the right direction on so many fronts.