Entrepreneur behind in-flight catalogs sets sights on making energy from wood waste in rural Ariz.

Robert Worsley had a multi-million dollar idea when he created SkyMall magazine to sell gifts to bored airline passengers. The Arizona entrepreneur thinks he might have an even bigger idea now. Worsley wants to turn "green waste" and the byproducts of a newsprint factory into electricity, reports Ryan Randazzo of The Arizona Republic.

Along with Tempe-based Renegy Holdings Inc., Worsley plans to open a a $53 million, 24-megawatt biomass power plant this spring near Snowflake, about 130 miles northeast of Phoenix. (Encarta map)

"The company has amassed acres of wood chips, about 300,000 tons, and the state's two largest utilities have agreed to buy electricity from the projec," Randazzo writes. "Renegy collects "green waste" from landfill drop-offs across northern Arizona, including Payson, Pinetop-Lakeside and Strawberry. The company also has deals for forest-thinning projects that are designed to prevent massive fires." (Read more)

The plant will be built at Abitibi Consolidated's paper mill in Snowflake, and the mill is welcoming the arrival, reports the Silver Creek Herald, the 3,000-circulation weekly in Navajo County. “Overall, things are looking good here at the mill,” manager John McKee told reporter Linda Kor. (Read more)