Bourne’s Energy biofuel blending plant and rewnewable propane in Morrisville, VT (Courtesy photos)
Jessie Haas
In drafting laws and regulations to promote clean-energy technologies, states and the federal government have hoped to ensure that these options are available to those in lower-income brackets. However, when a retrofit or replacement of your entire heating system is needed in order to go “clean and green,” a lot of people just can’t afford the investment.
There are options, though, as simple as just changing what you burn in your existing furnace, heater, or backup generator. For well over a decade, Morrisville, Vermont energy company Bourne’s Energy has been offering green heating fuels to communities in central and northern Vermont and wood pellets throughout the entire state. They offer liquid fuel called BioHeat or BioDiesel as an alternative to conventional oil. This biofuel is made from cooking oils collected from around New England, which are cleaned and processed to produce a carbon-neutral fuel. Biofuel can be directly substituted for conventional petroleum-based heating oil or diesel.
Biofuel is typically used in a blend with conventional diesel, categorized by the percentage of bio in the blend. B20 BioDiesel for instance, is 20% biofuel and 80% petroleum. Bourne’s Energy sells several blends, including B99, which it states is “really more like B99.99” and is the highest blend available on the general market. In most cases, all the blends can be used in existing furnaces without equipment modifications. For B99, a site visit is required up front, but that visit is at no cost to the customer. All Bourne’s biofuel is blended at the company’s blending plant in Morrisville, VT which was built in 2012 to give the company greater control over the process and range of blends of biofuel it could offer customers. Biodiesel for vehicles is available at three pump stations in Vermont, Morrisville, Lyndonville, and Hardwick.
Bourne’s Energy has not sold straight conventional heating oil for over a decade, and all its oil customers receive biofuel, so any oil customer can immediately lower their carbon footprint simply by switching their fuel provider to Bourne’s Energy. According to spokesperson April Merrill, Bourne’s is “the only energy company in Vermont that offers all of the following low carbon products: Biofuel/B99, biodiesel for vehicles, renewable propane, wood pellets, heat pumps, and other energy-efficient equipment (i.e., furnaces, boilers, bulk wood pellet storage). Everything we offer is with the goal of doing the right thing and helping people reduce their carbon footprint in a manageable way.” Their most recent addition to their green fuel lineup is renewable propane. Bourne’s was the first energy provider to bring renewable propane to Vermont for home heating use with its first delivery on September 19, 2023.
Bourne’s Energy has long been a propane dealer, and to be clear, propane is already considered a clean-energy fuel, approved in the 1990 Clean Air Act. Propane occurs naturally in oil and gas wells, is not itself a greenhouse gas (GHG), and can emit up to 38% fewer GHGs than the fuel oil burned in most furnaces (as well as half the CO2 of charcoal barbecues.) It contains virtually no sulfur, and emits no soot, nitrogen oxide, or methane.
Bourne’s Energy installing a heat pump for a customer in northern Vermont
Now propane gets even better, with the introduction of renewable propane. Also known as bio-propane or green propane, it is produced (along with biodiesel) from biomass feedstocks such as plant oils, animal fats, and other food and agricultural wastes, similar to biodiesel. Where renewable propane scores highest is in its carbon intensity value, which is four times lower than conventional propane and five times lower than diesel. According to Bourne’s, “At the point of combustion, renewable propane is carbon-neutral, meaning no new carbon is added to the atmosphere when renewable propane is burned.” While it does release CO2 into the atmosphere when burned, “the CO2 emissions are offset by the carbon dioxide absorbed by the plants that were used to produce the renewable feedstocks, making it a closed carbon cycle.” The environmental benefit, of course, depends on the feedstock, but assuming that food waste is used, it should be substantial. Bourne’s states that renewable propane can be used in existing propane heating systems, “making it a convenient option for homeowners looking to reduce their carbon footprint and make a difference, without a costly investment.” As with its biofuel option, renewable propane will be blended with traditional propane so any customer who uses Bourne’s Energy for their propane delivery will be making a difference and reducing their carbon footprint.
Whether you fuel your home or business with oil, propane, or wood, Bourne’s Energy has an option to help you lower your carbon footprint, without a costly investment. This concerted effort to bring affordable green options the community, combined with their extensive history of giving back to Vermonters, were strong contributing factors that led to Bourne’s Energy being named Outstanding Business of the Year for 2023 by the Vermont Chamber of Commerce and Vermont Business Magazine. Co-Owner Mike Bourne said, “This award is really a reflection on the quality of the people we have. How we work together for our customers is part of what sets us apart. We feel it is our duty as a leader in the fuel industry to forge the path for Vermonters to reduce their carbon footprint with environmentally friendlier heating fuels and high-efficiency equipment that are affordable and easy to implement. I speak for the entire Bourne’s Energy work family in thanking the Vermont Chamber and Vermont Business Magazine for this award.”
For homeowners able to make the investment, Bourne’s Energy sells a full line of equipment to help you lower your carbon footprint, and there are rebates and incentives available as well. For those of us who aren’t ready to make that kind of investment, it’s nice to know there are fuel options we can choose right now, to help us make a difference.
Jessie Haas lives in a 450 square-foot off-grid cabin in southeast Vermont with husband Michael J. Daley. She is the author of 41 books, including Snow Day.
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