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