Utah Clean Air Partnership (UCAIR) Executive Director Thom Carter joined Gov. Gary R. Herbert at the State Capitol to launch an incentive program to replace 80 wood burning stoves along the Wasatch Front with cleaner gas-burning appliances.
“In Utah, we don’t wait for others to solve our problems; we take action,” said Gov. Herbert. “This wood stove exchange program represents how we do business, bringing the private and nonprofit sector together to meet a need. Because of this partnership, those who want the benefit of a warm stove in their homes can have it while reducing their emissions.”
The voluntary Show UCAIR Wood Stove Exchange program offers $1,000 discounts to Utahns in Weber, Davis, Salt Lake, Utah and Tooele counties – the counties most heavily affected by winter inversions in Utah –to exchange older wood-burning stoves for new gas units. Chevron, Andeavor and the Eccles Foundation provided the funds to exchange 80 stoves.
Experts indicate that wood smoke represents a disproportionally large source of emissions during Utah’s winter inversions and creates micro-inversions within neighborhoods where wood is burned, posing localized health concerns. Every change-out from a wood burning stove to a gas unit results in a 95 percent emissions reduction, equaling a reduction of 150 tons of emissions over the life cycle of the stoves.
“In the effort for clean air, there are no perfect answers, but there are practical solutions,” said Carter. “The Show UCAIR Wood Stove Exchange is an example of such a solution. The program is a wonderful opportunity for Utahns to both reduce their household emissions and save money. This creates a better, healthier Utah for all of us.”
Those interested in the exchange program should visit ucair.org and click on the Wood Stove Exchange link. Program participants download an application and work with UCAIR staff to determine eligibility and then receive a discount voucher. Eligible Utahns then work directly with a pre-qualified retailer to select the new stove and complete the installation, receiving the $1,000 discount automatically. Exchange vouchers are available starting today and will be provided on a first-come, first-serve basis.
