Connecticut Energy Marketers Association (CEMA) and Generation Next Energy Pros are holding a career fair to celebrate the end of the school year. The event is Thursday, June 8, 10 am to 1 pm, hosted by CEMA in Cromwell, CT.
Network with local companies about potential job opportunities, learn about new heating equipment technologies and the latest about biofuel.
Please RSVP by June 5, gerry_brien@bostonenv.com. ICM
Women in Energy (We) invites all to attend the next batch of Webinar Wednesdays at the start of 2023. Originally started in 2018, We has been hosting Webinar Wednesdays over lunch hours. Each webinar begins at 12:15 pm and lasts for 30–45 minutes. The webinars are presented by We’s Corporate and Individual members, as well as other industry experts.
For more info and to RSVP, visit: https://wewomeninenergy.com/events/webinar-wednesdays/
Right Time Group of Cos., St. Catharines, ON, has acquired Waterloo-based Dunn Heating ClimateCare, which now operates as Dunn Heating and Air Conditioning. Terms of the deal were not revealed.
Established in 1973, Dunn Heating and Air Conditioning has delivered residential heating, cooling, air quality and hot water services to homeowners in the Tri-Cities area of Southern Ontario, encompassing Waterloo, Kitchener and Cambridge. Management, including former owner Rick Dunn, and company employees will join the Right Time team and continue to serve their customers and community.
Dunn Heating and Air Conditioning is the 16th acquisition completed by Right Time as it continues to execute its growth strategy.
“We are excited to welcome the Dunn team to the Right Time family,” said Right Time CEO Craig Goettler. “Rick has built a great business in the Tri-Cities and Right Time will continue to deliver the exceptional service Dunn Heating and Air Conditioning has provided to its valued customers.”
“Over the past 50 years we have built a strong business centered around great customer service,” said Mr. Dunn. “As I considered the next stage for the business, Right Time was a natural choice. They have a great track record of integrating strong local companies and taking them to the next level.”
Right Time is continuing to seek residential HVAC and home services locations to add to its existing network in Canada. Right Time is majority-owned by Gryphon Investors, a leading middle-market private equity firm.
HomeServe USA technician Matthew (Mack) Shwert has won the 2022 ServiceTitan HVAC National Championship. A seven-year HomeServe employee based out of the company’s Woburn, MA location, Shwert competed in and won the multi-round, live-action competition in Tampa, FL on Nov. 2.
In its inaugural year, the 2022 ServiceTitan HVAC National Championship, part of the Elite Trades Championship Series, sought to identify the top professional HVAC Technician through a series of skills-based events. The first round of the competition, completed by more than 1,200 HVAC technicians nationwide, consisted of an online quiz from NATE, the nation’s largest nonprofit certification organization for HVAC Technicians.
HomeServe’s Mack Shwert won the title of 2022 ServiceTitan HVAC National Champion and a $40,000 cash prize.
Based on quiz scores, the field was narrowed to 76 for round two, where contestants were sent an at-home kit to test their brazing skills. Round three started the semi-finals at the Tampa Convention Center where the field of 15 professionals competed in live timed events, and were judged on their efficiency, accuracy and overall quality of work. In the semi-finals and then the finals, Mack and his fellow competitors had to completely install an HVAC system, according to written specifications, over two rounds. HomeServe’s Shwert proved victorious, winning the title of 2022 ServiceTitan HVAC National Champion and a $40,000 cash prize.
“We’re all incredibly proud of Mack’s accomplishment,” commented Mark Crook, Senior VP, HomeServe Energy Services. “It’s a well-deserved win for him, and a testament to the skills he’s perfected throughout his career. Mack, like all the people working in skilled trades roles with us at HomeServe, is key to our company value of putting our customers at the heart of everything we do. We’re glad to have him on our team.”
In his seven years at HomeServe, Shwert has performed nearly 6,000 HVAC repair and installation jobs. Shwert consistently receives five-star reviews from the customers he services.
“When I started this process, I never imagined I’d make it to the finals, let alone win the entire competition,” said Shwert. “I’m really excited about winning and being able to showcase not only my skills in the trades, but show that this can be a great career for people everywhere. Winning the competition means a lot to me, my family and the people I work with at HomeServe. I’m really proud to be the first HVAC National Champion.”
Source: HomeServe
Phoenix, AZ-based heating, Ventilating and Air Conditioning (HVAC) firm Desert Diamond Mechanical announced the results of its Holiday Giving Program to donate and install a new high-efficiency HVAC unit for a deserving member of the Phoenix metro community. The company selected two individuals and both HVAC units have been installed—just in time for the Christmas holiday.
Milorad Djuric from Glendale and Carolyn Rhodes of Phoenix each received a free Trane unit including installation, valued up to $12,000, from Desert Diamond.
Carolyn Rhodes with her new HVAC unit (photo courtesy of Amendola Communications).
The online submission process opened several weeks ago. Desert Diamond intended to select just one recipient; however, both Djuric and Rhodes had such compelling stories submitted on their behalf by each of their children, that the Desert Diamond team felt it was important to select two recipients instead.
“We have been serving the air conditioning and heating needs of homes and businesses across the Phoenix Valley for decades,” said Carlo Cardella, Owner & President of Desert Diamond. “We love this community, and we know how difficult it can be for people that don’t have good-working HVAC systems in place – or none at all. Heating and air conditioning are crucial comforts of home here in the Phoenix desert. We are thrilled we were able to help Milorad and Carolyn this holiday season with a gift that will keep on giving — improving the comforts of their homes and saving on their energy bills for years to come.”
According to recent reports, nearly 3% of Phoenix metro residences live without heating and air conditioning in their homes, and that number is expected to rise due to people’s inability to afford the cost to repair inefficient or failed HVAC units.
The Desert Diamond Holiday Giving Program is part of its Desert Diamond Cares initiative, under which the firm has given away Trane HVAC units across the past several years to various beneficiaries, including the nonprofit, Arizona Small Dog Rescue.
SOURCE: Desert Diamond
Daikin Industries, Ltd. said it recently received high acclaim as a company excelling in climate change measures and corporate disclosure by its inclusion in the “A List” compiled by CDP for the second consecutive year.
CDP is an international environmental non-profit organization that operates a global environmental information disclosure system for companies and local governments. It asks companies and local governments to disclose information on environmental issues, such as greenhouse gas emissions, water resources and forest protection. CDP collects, analyzes and evaluates this info and selects the companies with the most distinguished climate change initiatives and information disclosure for its “Climate Change A List.” CDP evaluated 15,000 companies this year.
As a company that manufactures both air conditioners and refrigerants, Daikin provides products and services around the world that utilize environmental technologies. Its main business of air conditioning helps improve the health and productivity of people as part of social infrastructure that contributes to economic development, but the widespread use of air conditioning also increases electrical power consumption, which impacts global warming.
To promote business growth while also mitigating impact to climate change, Daikin established its “Environment Vision 2050,” which aims for net zero greenhouse gas emissions from company business activities in 2050. To achieve this, the company established “Challenge to Achieve Carbon Neutrality” as a growth strategy theme in its strategic management plan Fusion 25 up to fiscal 2025. In addition to measures at the production stage and the development and increase of environmentally conscious products, the company confronts the entire value chain including the building of a refrigerant recovery and reclamation system in the market.
Gavin Hale
Gavin Hale has joined the Propane Education & Research Council (PERC) as VP of Business Development.
“Gavin is a proven leader with a wealth of experience in new product development, a robust understanding of engine markets and expertise in complete powertrain integration,” said PERC President & CEO Tucker Perkins. “We are excited to have him on board to help seize the opportunities ahead for our industry.”
Hale hails from Deutz Corp., where he served as Director of New Power System Business Development Market & Technology Development. In this dual role, he developed and executed a five-year, $400 million business growth strategy and led an international team in developing Deutz’s first compact propane spark ignited engine.
Prior to his time at Deutz, Hale worked for Power Solutions International (PSI) as VP of Sales. Before PSI, he had a long and successful career serving as Manager of New Business Development at Caterpillar Machine Engines.
A native of the UK, Hale has a degree in automotive engineering from Accrington and Rossendale College, Nelson and Colne Technical College, located in Nelson, Lancashire, England. He holds a Six Sigma Black Belt, as well as numerous vocational and business certifications.
At PERC, Gavin will bring his knowledge and experience to lead business development efforts and direct the development of renewable fuel strategies, the organization said. Hale will be based in Georgia.
Eastern Energy Expo has announced the Iowa Soybean Association, in conjunction with Bioheat and Clean Fuels (CFAA), have signed on as a top-level Business Partner to Eastern Energy Expo (EEE) 2023, set for May 21–24 at the Atlantic City Convention Center, Atlantic City, NJ.
“We are excited that Iowa Soybean Association is joining us as an Expo Business Partner,” said Eric DeGesero, Executive VP, FMA, representing Eastern Energy Expo. “Carbon reduction and
ultimately Net-Zero home heating must happen for the industry to survive and Bioheat® fuel and CFAA are the catalysts to make that happen.”
“For many years, Clean Fuels and its state soybean leadership groups have found exceptional value in collaborating with Eastern Energy Expo,” said Paul Nazzaro, Clean Fuels Supply Chain Liaison. “Together we are stronger and more effective advancing the full adoption of Bioheat® fuel. This year the Iowa Soybean Association has generously agreed to support our Business Partnership. Our commitment to deliver factual, timely and valuable resources to help fuel dealers grow their businesses, remains our number one goal. We look forward to a successful event.”
EEE will be hosting two special presentations including a keynote program that will showcase the development process and status of the first proven pour point depressant to treat B50 biodiesel blends for optimum performance. Additionally, there will be a discussion on how to stimulate the flow of low-carbon liquid fuel to the Northeast heating market.
EEE brings together, under one roof, wholesale and retail heating fuel marketers, motor fuel distributors, diesel and biodiesel distributors, propane marketers and service professionals—all shopping for the latest and best in products and services for the petroleum marketing and HVAC
industry. The Expo will include more than 50 business and technical education programs.
The two-day trade show will be open on Tuesday, May 23 from noon–6pm, and Wednesday, May 24
from 10am–2pm. In addition to the two-day trade show, EEE features a variety of education programs in business and technical education tracks and will include programs hosted by NORA and Oil & Energy Service Professionals. Request for presentations are currently being accepted. The deadline for submission is January 11.
EEE also acknowledges and thanks the following companies for their support:
Eastern Energy Expo offers numerous sponsorship and marketing opportunities to increase branding
and visibility for participating companies. Visit EasternEnergyExpo.com.
Oil and Energy Service Professionals (OESP) issued a save-the-date for the next Care to Ride event. Scheduled for May 22, it will occur during the Eastern Energy Expo (EEE) at Harrah’s Resort in Atlantic City, NJ, from May 21–24. The event will be in memory of OESP’s deceased President Ralph Adams III. Registration information will be forthcoming, OESP said.
Visit https://www.easternenergyexpo.com/ or https://oilheatcares.com/
Clean Fuels Alliance America criticized the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) proposed Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) volumes for 2023 and beyond for undercutting investments in biodiesel and renewable diesel capacity. The minor increases for biomass-based diesel volumes in 2023, 2024 and 2025 are below the industry’s existing production and ignore the clean fuels industry’s significant investments in new capacity. The volumes provide no additional space for sustainable aviation fuel and short-circuit the nation’s goals to cut carbon emissions.
“EPA’s overdue set proposal significantly undercounts existing biomass-based diesel production and fails to provide growth for investments the industry has already made in additional capacity, including for sustainable aviation fuel. The volumes EPA is proposing for 2023, 2024 and 2025 ignore the more than 3 billion gallons currently in the market and fail to take into account the planned growth of the clean fuels sector,” said Clean Fuels VP of Federal Affairs Kurt Kovarik.
EPA’s data from the RFS program show that the U.S. market reached 3.1 billion gallons of biomass-based diesel in 2021 and already 2.9 billion gallons through October 2022, with two months still to go. The Energy Information Administration’s (EIA) Short Term Energy Outlook, which informs EPA’s decisions on annual RFS volumes, currently projects a 500-million-gallon increase in biodiesel and renewable diesel consumption for 2023. EIA has also projected 2.4. billion gallons of added renewable diesel capacity coming online by 2024 and calculated another 1.8 billion gallons in announced planned capacity.
“The biodiesel and renewable diesel industry has already made considerable investments in production capacity and distribution infrastructure that will come online by 2025. The soybean and canola industries have invested more than $4 billion to bring additional feedstock capacity online over the next several years,” Kovarik continued. “EPA’s proposed biomass-based diesel volumes undercut those investments.”
Clean Fuels appreciates EPA’s final rule creating a pathway to produce renewable diesel, jet fuel, heating oil, naphtha, and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) from canola oil, which will generate even more biomass-based diesel and advanced biofuel gallons for the program. The approval enables a more diverse feedstock supply for the clean fuels industry. But the potential growth is not accounted for in the proposed volumes.
Clean Fuels supports EPA’s proposed alternative compliance method to document points of origin for used cooking oil supplies under separated food waste plans. This method will allow small producers to continue using a low-carbon feedstock and rely on documentation from used cooking oil aggregators.
“The clean fuels industry is meeting and exceeding all of the statutory factors that EPA is supposed to consider when setting volumes,” Kovarik added. “Our industry’s growth can generate new jobs and increase economic opportunities for growers, fuel producers and other economic sectors. Increasing production of clean fuels improves U.S. energy security, lowers diesel fuel prices, and generates carbon and emission reductions today that are necessary to meet future national environmental goals.”
Recently, Clean Fuels published a new study, “Economic Impact of Biodiesel on the U.S. Economy 2022,” conducted by LMC International. The study finds that based on 2021 market data, the biodiesel and renewable diesel industry produced 3.1 billion gallons and generated $23.2 billion in economic activity, while supporting 75,200 jobs paying $3.6 billion in annual wages in the U.S. For every 100-million-gallon increase in domestic clean fuel production, the direct, indirect and induced economic activity increases by $1.09 billion and U.S. jobs grow by 3,185. The largest economic and employment benefits occurred in the farming, oilseed processing, and fuel production sectors.
The study further calculates that producing 6 billion gallons of clean fuels in the U.S. would increase overall economic activity from the current $23.2 billion to $61.6 billion and support 187,003 jobs earning $8.8 billion in wages. The construction of additional capacity would increase economic activity by an added $4.3 billion and support an additional 144,500 related temporary jobs earning $5.8 billion in wages.
When setting RFS volumes, EPA must consider the infrastructure and rate of future commercial production for advanced biofuels like biodiesel, renewable diesel and SAF. According to the EIA, biodiesel and renewable diesel capacity is already 750 million gallons higher in 2022 compared 2021. EIA’s Short Term Energy Outlook projects availability of 3.9 billion gallons of biodiesel and renewable diesel in 2023. Further, USDA’s successful Higher Blends Infrastructure Incentive Program has already supported infrastructure investments for an additional 1 billion gallons of biodiesel. Congress has made a strong commitment to continue infrastructure grants through 2030, Clean Fuels Alliance America said.
Source: Clean Fuels Says RFS Proposal for 2023 and Beyond Woefully Underestimates Biomass-based Diesel
