Wood pellet project in US receives agreement

A lease agreement has been agreed by the North Carolina State Ports Authority with the council state to enter the wood pellet industry.

The agreement between the authority and Enviva Holdings will see Enviva build a pellet export facility at the Port of Wilmington capable of receiving, storing and load wood-based products for European consumption.

The facility will take around 18 months to complete but an operational deadline of January 2015 has been set by state officials. It is believed investment by Enviva for construction is around $35 million (€26.6 million) and an initial 21-year lease has been agreed.

Experts at North Carolina university expect US production of wood pellets to increase from 3 million tonnes in 2009 to almost 10 million tonnes in 2015.