Chuck Theall, with a burly woodsman’s physique and white Santa Clause beard, stands on the ground near a pile of wood chips piled higher than a house.

The warm scent of pine lingers in the air.

“I worked 10 years in nuclear power in the Navy. Got out, interviewed at a trash plant,” recalled Theall, sweat stains soaking through his Carhartt T-shirt under a warm afternoon sun. “I didn’t like that.”

He heard that a new wood-burning electrical power generation facility in rural New Hampshire was looking for a steam plant operator. That was 30 years ago. Theall said he stayed because the work and small town life suits him — and there’s something really pleasant about being around freshly cut wood.

“It smells like Christmas trees all the time here,” he said.