Brian Hartmann, President of NorthStar Clean Energy says “Working with Barton Malow and Woodchuck shows how innovative partnerships can scale sustainable practices while delivering reliable energy to Michigan communities.”
Rather than allowing thousands of pounds of pallets, cable spools, and wood packaging to end up in landfills, the team diverts this material for reuse as biomass fuel. The process integrates Woodchuck’s AI-driven logistics system with Barton Malow’s site operations, making it easier to track, collect, and process construction wood waste in real-time. Once processed, the reclaimed wood is sent to NorthStar’s Genesee Power Station, where it’s converted into usable energy for the local grid.
The results are already measurable. Nearly 500 tons of construction wood waste from the Hart project have been transformed into 38 million BTUs of renewable energy—equivalent to powering 16 Detroit homes for a month or eliminating over 800 tons of CO₂ emissions.
The collaboration is more than a single-site success. Barton Malow is leveraging this partnership to build out a broader sustainability framework across its portfolio of renewable energy projects. By applying quantifiable metrics to waste diversion and carbon reductions, the company is embedding environmental reporting into core project delivery.
For Woodchuck, the initiative proves how digital tools can simplify waste management at scale. Its software platform coordinates everything from on-site shredding to downstream fuel delivery, helping contractors eliminate inefficiencies without increasing labor demands.
NorthStar Clean Energy, which uses the processed biomass as part of its energy mix, sees this model as an important step toward integrating clean energy production with circular resource recovery. The approach offers energy providers a reliable, low-carbon feedstock while helping construction teams meet their sustainability benchmarks without slowing project timelines.
This collaboration between construction, clean tech, and energy generation sets a precedent for how industrial sectors can align on climate goals—turning jobsite byproducts into renewable power and measurable climate impact.
