Wood Pellets
Pellet fuel is a renewable, clean-burning, and relatively cost stable home heating alternative in current use throughout much of the U.S., Europe and elsewhere. Approximately 800,000 homes in the U.S. use wood pellets for heat – in freestanding stoves, fireplace inserts, boilers, and furnaces, according to the Pellet Fuels Institute.
We will provide your pellets in convenient 40 lb bags, or in the near future, via bulk delivery. Your purchase includes delivery by Bourdeau Bushey of Middlebury; a forklift will normally be used to move your pellets to a convenient location at or near your home. If you would like to return your plastic 40 lb bags that you used this season to Vermont Wood Pellet, you may do so. The mill can reuse them in sealing the pellets for larger orders. Or you can contact a local glass dealer or studio and see if they would like to use them for packing material.
The Co-op takes orders for Vermont Wood Pellet which are super premium grade pellets. Vermont Wood Pellets are the only locally produced wood pellets in Vermont. This excellent, high BTU pellet is produced from a combination of locally harvested, Vermont soft woods (all species of pine). Vermont Wood Pellets comply with quality industry standards and manufactured at a state-of-the-art wood pellet mill located in North Clarendon, VT. The pellets are low in ash and don't contain filler. A member testimonial speaks to these pellets' quality:
"Very, very low ash. When bag or hopper opened, the pellets smell like apples or fresh sawdust. Very low fines, almost no dust. Clinkers very small-low buildup. High heat. Correct length-no long pellets. Run through auger quietly. No loud snapping sounds. Great people to deal with. Local jobs."- Cliff & Pat Carpenter, Acorn Energy Co-op membersOrdering Acorn Energy Co-Op Wood Pellets
The Acorn Renewable Energy Co-op is pleased to again be offering Super Premium wood pellets manufactured by our partner of the last three years, Vermont Wood Pellet of North Clarendon, VT. Our price list for the fall and winter are now available.Click here for:Price List or Order Form.
The specs on these pellets, made from White Pine, are excellent:
We are able to offer these excellent pellets to members in Addison and Rutland counties at delivered prices ranging from $269 to $279 per ton, depending on volume. These prices are subject to change:
In order to control delivery costs, we must impose the following constraints on deliveries:
- All tons must be delivered at the same time
- Minimum delivery quantity – 2 tons; (exceptions, with a substantial surcharge, can be made for those who only have storage space to accommodate one ton at a time)
- All deliveries will be scheduled between July 19th and November 30th except for the following three exceptions:
- One delivery date in January – minimum of 2 tons
- One delivery date in February and one in March – minimum of 1 ton ( to accommodate those caught short near the end of the heating season – a substantial delivery surcharge will accompany single ton deliveries)
For those who prefer to pick up their own pellets, Prepaid orders can be picked up on Saturday mornings at either Bourdeau Bushey in Middlebury or VWP in North Clarendon for $250 per ton for members, $255 per ton for non-members.
If you do not have any need for pellets, please pass this information along to any friends or family who might find it useful. As always, if you have any questions, please call Rhonda Williams, our Co-op Coordinator at 802-385-1911 or email her at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Heating Fuel Equivalencies
If you are converting to wood pellets for heating, and have a sense of how much energy it currently takes to heat your home, use the following guidelines to estimate how many tons of pellets you will need.
One ton of wood pellets equals approximately…
◦150 gallons of heating oil
◦170 gallons of propane
◦16,000 cu.ft. of natural gas
◦4,775 kilowatt hours (kWh) of electricity
Wood Pellet Fuel Characteristics
Weight Between 40 and 46 lb per cubic footBTU Average 8,500 Btu/pound (8389)
Diameter About one quarter inch
Length Less than 1.5 inches
Fines Less than one half percent
Ash Less than one percent (.27%)
Moisture Less than eight percent (4.8%)
Chloride Less than 300 ppm
Sulfur Less than one percent (.007%)
Online Wood Pellet Fuel Calculator
Use this online calculator, to compare prices of pellet fuel to electricity, hardwood, natural gas, LP gas/propane, coal and fuel oil.
