Nov. 20, 2009
Small Wood-fired Power Plant Provides Service to the Community
Special to Huntingtonnews.net
The JOBS Project, a group working to bring renewable energy jobs to the area, hosted a tour of a wood-fired plant in Campbellsville, Kentucky last weekend.
“I was surprised that the plant produced its own power and provided services to local industries,” commented Dustin Steele of Mingo County, West Virginia. “They used the fallen trees from the last ice storm to make electricity.”
Cox Waste-to-Energy cooperates with nearly twenty businesses to make use of the wood resources available in Kentucky. They donate wood ash to a company that makes mulch for gardens and provide wood shavings for the pet bedding at horse and chicken farms. In addition, Cox buys sawdust, slabs, and old wood pallets from 10-15 local sawmills and manufacturers. They also allow individuals to bring in untreated wood and provide a sustainable alternative to expensive dumps and landfills.
West Virginia has the potential to produce 5.4 billion kWh of electricity from biomass, which is enough to supply power to 543,000 average homes, or provide 61% of the state’s residential needs. “Biomass is a valuable resource,” says Professor Jingxin Wang from the Division of Forestry and Natural Resources at West Virginia University. “The use of abundant wood-waste in southern West Virginia could promote local economic development.”
The JOBS Project promotes rural economic development by educating residents of southern West Virginia about implementing renewable energy projects. It encourages local residents to become investors in a market that is growing around the plentiful natural resources in our region, specifically woody biomass and wind.
Community ownership of power production facilities in comparison with “absentee” ownership structures prolongs direct financial benefits for the state and local populations. The economic impacts are observed to be between 1.5-3.4 times greater for locally owned projects.
The plant manager of Cox Waste-to-Energy, Shane Turner, has been with the company since 1993 and has stocks in the company. With a family-owned facility and a small staff, Turner explains, “it’s like being in a marriage, we fuss at one another, and we help each other out.”
The self-trained workforce keeps the facility running smooth, “I ask their thoughts when something goes wrong with the machines. If one solution doesn’t work, we’ll try another.” A total of twenty-one people are employed at the facility, “There’s not a big turnover with employees here. Thirteen or fourteen of us have been here since the beginning of operation,” says Turner.
Earl Long, a resident of Monroe County, WV working with the JOBS Project comments, "Community ownership is everything. When the people own the renewable energy facility, then the project becomes bound to the community it serves."
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Small Wood-fired Power Plant Provides Service to the Community
Special to Huntingtonnews.net
The JOBS Project, a group working to bring renewable energy jobs to the area, hosted a tour of a wood-fired plant in Campbellsville, Kentucky last weekend.
“I was surprised that the plant produced its own power and provided services to local industries,” commented Dustin Steele of Mingo County, West Virginia. “They used the fallen trees from the last ice storm to make electricity.”
Cox Waste-to-Energy cooperates with nearly twenty businesses to make use of the wood resources available in Kentucky. They donate wood ash to a company that makes mulch for gardens and provide wood shavings for the pet bedding at horse and chicken farms. In addition, Cox buys sawdust, slabs, and old wood pallets from 10-15 local sawmills and manufacturers. They also allow individuals to bring in untreated wood and provide a sustainable alternative to expensive dumps and landfills.
West Virginia has the potential to produce 5.4 billion kWh of electricity from biomass, which is enough to supply power to 543,000 average homes, or provide 61% of the state’s residential needs. “Biomass is a valuable resource,” says Professor Jingxin Wang from the Division of Forestry and Natural Resources at West Virginia University. “The use of abundant wood-waste in southern West Virginia could promote local economic development.”
The JOBS Project promotes rural economic development by educating residents of southern West Virginia about implementing renewable energy projects. It encourages local residents to become investors in a market that is growing around the plentiful natural resources in our region, specifically woody biomass and wind.
Community ownership of power production facilities in comparison with “absentee” ownership structures prolongs direct financial benefits for the state and local populations. The economic impacts are observed to be between 1.5-3.4 times greater for locally owned projects.
The plant manager of Cox Waste-to-Energy, Shane Turner, has been with the company since 1993 and has stocks in the company. With a family-owned facility and a small staff, Turner explains, “it’s like being in a marriage, we fuss at one another, and we help each other out.”
The self-trained workforce keeps the facility running smooth, “I ask their thoughts when something goes wrong with the machines. If one solution doesn’t work, we’ll try another.” A total of twenty-one people are employed at the facility, “There’s not a big turnover with employees here. Thirteen or fourteen of us have been here since the beginning of operation,” says Turner.
Earl Long, a resident of Monroe County, WV working with the JOBS Project comments, "Community ownership is everything. When the people own the renewable energy facility, then the project becomes bound to the community it serves."
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