ESCANABA, Mich. (AP) — An Upper Peninsula man has worked for more than two years to buy an Escanaba power plant so he can convert it from coal-fueled to biomass.

The Daily Press of Escanaba reports ( http://bit.ly/1ioUv4R ) that Charles Detiege of Ford River felt compelled to put together investors to buy the plant. He stepped in as he saw co-workers laid off when the plant was idled in 2012. The 37-year-old was the plant’s environmental health and safety coordinator since 2010.