BAKERSFIELD, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Macpherson Energy Corporation entities have agreed to acquire 50% ownership in Kern County’s Mt. Poso cogeneration plant and will co-lead its conversion to a 44-megawatt renewable energy center operating 100 percent on biomass fuel, primarily wood waste. Construction on the biomass plant begins this week with earthmoving.

Macpherson has been one of the owners of Mt. Poso Cogeneration since 1987. The company is managing partner of numerous Kern County oil fields.

Macpherson Energy Corporation and DTE Energy Services subsidiaries acquired the Mt. Poso plant from its previous partners effective November 1. Mt. Poso has a 15-year agreement to sell the biomass energy to Pacific Gas and Electric Company; this agreement has received the necessary regulatory approval from the California Public Utilities Commission.

DTEES will operate the plant and co-lead its conversion to biomass. Macpherson will increase its ownership position in the Mt. Poso cogeneration facility to 50% and will continue to have a management role. Its wholly owned subsidiary Macpherson Oil Company operates the adjacent West Mt. Poso Oil Field, which provides the water supply for the cogeneration plant and produces oil in a thermally enhanced oil recovery operation using steam from the cogeneration plant.

The biomass conversion project is expected to produce 90 local construction jobs, 10 new full-time jobs at the cogeneration plant when conversion is completed in 2012, and additional jobs supplying the wood to the plant and providing other services. The wood to fuel the power plant will come from construction waste, tree trimmings and agricultural sources. All current employees at the plant will keep their jobs and become DTEES employees, while oil field employees will continue to be Macpherson employees.

“We are very proud to take this important step in responsible energy production,” said Donald R. Macpherson, President and Chief Executive Officer of Macpherson Energy. “Our biomass project, and the agreement to sell the clean energy to PG&E, will help California meet its renewable energy goals. It is good for the Kern County economy and good for the environment.”

The Mt. Poso plant uses the best available control technologies to minimize air emissions, and discharges zero solid or liquid wastes. It currently uses coal as its primary fuel source. “We will continue to be a leader in environmentally friendly energy,” Macpherson said.

Macpherson Energy Corporation is a growing, integrated energy provider headquartered in Santa Monica, CA, with principal oil and gas operations in Kern County, CA, and in Alabama. Macpherson is the 10th largest onshore oil producer in California. The company and its employees contribute approximately $120 million annually to the economy in royalty payments, payroll, taxes, and contracts with local vendors.

DTEES, headquartered in Ann Arbor, Michigan, has operations in 26 states including biomass plants in Woodland, CA, Wisconsin and Alabama.

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For more information, please contact Dave Hyams, Solem & Associates, 415-788-7788, or 415-260-1959 (cell).