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 1,000,000 homes in the U.S. use wood pellets for heat – in freestanding stoves, fireplace inserts, boilers, and furnaces, according to the Pellet Fuels Institute.

The Co-op takes orders for Vermont Wood Pellets 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.

We will provide your pellets in convenient 40 lb bags, or via bulk delivery. Your purchase of bagged pellets includes delivery by Vermont Renewable Fuels; 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.

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 members

Bulk Delivery and Storage


The Acorn Renewable Energy Co-op now offers our members a bulk pellet delivery and storage package. 

bulkdelv_sm Deliveries are made by a special pellet truck owned by Vermont Renewable Fuels. The driver/operator attaches a pneumatic delivery hose (up to 70 feet long) to permanent piping connected to storage containers in your basement, garage, or other building, and quickly fills the container(s). Click here for: Bulk Pellet Price List and Bulk Pellet Order form.

This delivery service first began in the 2011-2012 heating season, and followed over a year of previous experiments supported by the Vermont Sustainable Jobs Fund that allowed us to test a number of different storage systems. After reviewing the feedback we received on those tests, we settled on four main storage options for our members.

Read more: Bulk Delivery and Storage

Ordering Acorn Energy Co-Op Bagged 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 five years, Vermont Wood Pellet of North Clarendon, VT.  Our price list for the fall and winter is now available. Click here for: Bagged Pellet Price List and Bagged Pellet Order Form. 

The specs on these pellets are excellent:

Pellet_Specs

Effective June 1, we are able to offer these excellent pellets to members in Addison and Rutland Counties at delivered prices (cost of delivery included), depending on volume, as follows:  

 These prices are good until June 30, 2013.

Prices are per ton Delivered – payment by cash or check; $5 more for credit card

Pay at time of order, Delivery after mid-July 

Less $5.00 for Co-op Members

After June 30, prices go up!  More price increases expected in October.

2 tons*

$289

$294

3-4 tons

$284

$289

5 or more tons

$279

$284

 *15 surcharge to deliver one ton

 In order to control delivery costs, we must impose the following constraints on deliveries:  

pellets4

  • Minimum delivery quantity – 2 tons;  (exceptions, with a $15 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 17th and November 30th except for the following two exceptions:
    • One delivery date in January 2014 – minimum of 2 tons 
    • One delivery date in February 2014 – minimum of 1 ton ( to accommodate  those caught short near the end of the heating season – a $15 delivery surcharge will accompany single ton deliveries)

For those who prefer to pick up their own pellets, Prepaid orders can be picked up at a local site (details to be determined) by prior arrangement for $268 per ton for members, $273 per ton for non-members.  Call 802-385-1911 to make arrangements for pick-up.

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 Gwen Nagy-Benson, our Co-op Coordinator at 802-385-1911 or email her at This email 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 foot
BTU 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 Calulator

Use this online calculator, to compare prices of pellet fuel to electricity, hardwood, natural gas, LP gas/propane, coal and fuel oil.