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T he National Oilheat Research Alliance has begun building a research and development agenda to be funded by the check-off program that was re-authorized by Congress. NORA will be spending $3 million to $4 million per year on research, adding up to $15 million to $20 million over the next five years. That funding projec- tion, by NORA, is based on the collection of two-tenths of one cent per gallon over the five-year span of the re- authorization. Collection of the funds resumed on April 1 after a hiatus of more than four years, since February 2010, when the program's previous authorization expired. In that interim, the industry was lobbying Congress, which re-authorized the program in February. "Our total R&D [spending] in 2015 will probably be $3.5 million," said John Huber, president of NORA, which is based in Alexandria, Va. Of that total, approxi- mately $2 million will be used to underwrite "pure research," Huber said. The main goals of the research include: comparing fuel oil to competing energies; explor- ing how to improve fuel oil; the potential of Bioheat © ; and developing energy-efficient equipment and practices. The remaining $1 million to $1.5 million will be dis- tributed to state associations to support "technology transfer activities." These could include sponsoring man- ufacturer outreach to inform dealers about a particular technology and how it works. "That could be part of our research, development and demonstration program," Huber said. The "pure research" is to be conducted primarily at Brookhaven National Laboratory in Upton, N.Y., but may also be undertaken at additional locations, such as a university "or with a manufacturer trying to develop new equipment," Huber said. The specific subjects are being worked out now and should be decided on by December, with work beginning before February 2015—"within a year of our enactment," Huber noted. Six categories for research were discussed in depth during a planning meeting June 3-4 at BNL that was hosted by the lab's Dr. Thomas Butcher. In balloting, attendees accorded the categories the following order of priority: biofuels (27% of voters gave it top priority); field demonstrations/documentation (19%); low-cost, high-efficiency appliances (18%); controls/emerging technologies (14%); combustion/advanced burners (11%); and fuel quality (11%). Research in each of the categories is "most likely" to be funded to some degree or another, Huber said. NORA Research Director Richard Sweetser assembled the rec- ommendations into a "book." Once the book is reviewed and corrections and additions are made, and the NORA board accepts it, "That'll be our overall roadmap for the type of research we want to do," Huber said. In the fall NORA will issue a "program opportunity notice"—asking those in the industry to submit ideas or solutions or research projects based on the goals detailed in the book. The association's R&D committee BUSINESS OPERATIONS NORA Is Back in Business The National Oilheat Research Alliance is working to identify fruitful research projects By StepheN BeNNett 32 JULY 2014 | FUEL OIL NEWS | www.fueloilnews.com A "mainstream unit" fired by B100 will be needed, Butcher told the meeting attendees. He added that B100 "could be a solution to environmental issues related to leaking tanks."