Local students toured a Mt. Poso Cogeneration plant Wednesday as part of the second National Bioenergy Day.
Renewable energy producers spearheaded National Bioenergy Day to educate the public about environmental and economic benefits biomass provides as an energy source.
DTE Energy Services and Macpherson Energy Corp. partnered with Mt. Poso to host the local plant tour.
The Mt. Posa plant uses wood for fuel that comes from construction waste, tree trimmings and agricultural resources. The plant runs biomass fuel instead of coal.
“It keeps wood waste out of landfills and has created new markets for local agriculture byproducts,” said Stuart Welch, a manager at Mt. Poso.
According to Welch, the Mt. Poso plant created about 150 jobs including plant employees, local contractors, fuel truck drivers and processors.
Students from Liberty and Bakersfield high schools learned about some of those jobs Wednesday.
Both schools house training programs to teach science, technology, engineering and math courses.
Read the story at the Bakersfield Californian.
