Enviva develops second wood pellet plant in North Carolina

Biomass fuel producer Enviva is planning to construct a wood pellet production facility in Northampton County, North Carolina, US.

Upon completion, which is estimated for October 2012, the plant will be able to manufacture 400,000 tonnes a year of wood pellets, increasing North Carolina's annual production capacity to over 750,000 tonnes.

The plant has received funding from the state's One North Carolina Fund and will create 62 new jobs.

Enviva already owns four wood pellet plants and this will be the company's second North Carolina-based facility. Its first is located in Ahoskie and is currently completing construction. Production there is planned to begin this October.

As Governor Bev Perdue explains, 'North Carolina is quickly becoming a hub for alternative energy solutions. Our terrific business climate, skilled workforce and diverse natural resources make North Carolina an excellent location for the growing biomass industry and other alternative energy producers.'

The wood pellets from both North Carolina plants will be stored and loaded at Enviva's Chesapeake, Virginia deep water port facilities, an export terminal developed for the storage and handling of its products.

'Worldwide demand for biomass energy continues to increase,' says John Keppler, chairman and CEO of Enviva. 'The state's timber industry has been hard hit by forest-product facility closures in the last decade, but new and emerging opportunities in the renewable energy sector are revitalising the market.'

Enviva also owns manufacturing operations in Amory and Wiggins, Mississippi, in addition to a plant in Belgium.