A new state program is offering financial help to businesses that would like to start using wood pellets rather than heating oil.
The grants are designed to help businesses buy new heating systems that use a homegrown, renewable resource: wood.
The money is available through the Public Utilities Commission’s Sustainable Energy Division.
Jack Ruderman is its head.
“We’re offering a rebate of up to 30 percent of the cost of the heating system and installation with a cap of $50,000 per system," says Jack Ruderman, the head of the division.
Ruderman says $629,000 is available is on a first-come, first-served basis and applications are available on the PUC web site.
The program is similar to one available to homeowners.
The money comes from the state’s renewable energy fund. Electric utilities and electricity suppliers doing business in the state put money in that fund.