Building the model…
Wildfire fuel in. Clean power out.
We turn thinnings from the forests around Mt. Shasta and Lassen into renewable electricity for about 62,600 homes.
Anderson, California
Forest thinning
Crews thin crowded stands in the Shasta-Trinity and Lassen National Forests and on nearby private land. Those small trees and that brush are what let wildfires run.
Chipping
Limbs, tops, and brush with no lumber value are chipped for fuel instead of being left to dry out or burned in open piles.
The haul
Trucks bring the chips down out of the mountains to our plant in Anderson, in the Sacramento Valley.
Fuel yard
Up to 1,250 tons of wood arrive every day, including limbs, pallets, and clean lumber that neighbors drop off through our free recycling program.
Boiler
Controlled combustion turns the wood into high-pressure steam, capturing energy that would otherwise go up in smoke from an open burn pile.
Turbine
That steam spins a turbine generator rated at 55 megawatts.
The grid
Our substation steps the electricity up to grid voltage and sends it out across Northern California.
Your home
The end of the line: enough renewable electricity for about 62,600 homes.
This is what 55 megawatts looks like.
Every dot is ten homes. Scroll and watch them light up, from our plant outward. That’s the power we make from wood that would otherwise be burned in the open or left in the woods to dry out.
0of 62,600 homes
Thin the forest, starve the fire.
Crowded forests let flames jump from tree to tree. Thinning opens gaps the fire can’t cross, and gives the wood somewhere useful to go. Try it on two stands of the same forest.
Why thinning mattersA simple model of how fire moves from tree to tree. It shows the idea, not a forecast for any real forest.
Good jobs, right here in Anderson.
It takes a skilled local crew to keep a 55-megawatt plant running: operators, mechanics, and the people who keep fuel moving through the yard. Pay is posted on every role.
- Plant OperatorCoordinates daily plant operations to improve production and keep the plant running safely.$42.38/hr
- Assistant Plant OperatorMonitors and operates the boilers and auxiliary equipment.$35.15/hr
- Relief Assistant Plant OperatorAssists with daily plant operations, covering shifts across the schedule.$35.15/hr
- MechanicInstalls, troubleshoots, and maintains the plant's mechanical equipment.$33.38–$43.05/hr
- Equipment OperatorRuns and maintains the fuel handling systems and conveyors that feed the boiler.$28.99–$32.74/hr
- Plant LaborerCleaning, equipment operation, maintenance, and minor repairs around the plant.$22.71/hr
Got clean wood? Drop it off free.
Checking today’s hours…We take tree limbs and logs, chipped tree wood, pallets and crates, logging slash, and clean lumber. No yard waste, stumps, or painted wood.
What we accept