Enviva, Port of Pascagoula, break ground on wood pellet export terminal

State and local leaders and Governor Phil Bryant gathered on Nov. 7 at a groundbreaking ceremony for Enviva’s new marine export terminal in the Port of Pascagoula’s Bayou Casotte Harbor. The ceremony marks the beginning of construction of the $90 million terminal. Upon completion of construction, wood pellets produced in George County, Miss., and other Enviva plants in its strategic asset cluster in the Gulf region will be exported through the Pascagoula Terminal to markets in Asia and Europe.

Site preparation is underway and actual construction will commence in the next few weeks. Construction time for the terminal is expected to take 15 months and it will be built simultaneously with Enviva’s new wood pellet production plant in Lucedale, in George County. The new Pascagoula terminal is expected to directly employ approximately 30 full-time workers and support about 150 direct and indirect jobs during construction. When completed, the export terminal will be capable of receiving product by rail, barge, and truck. Two on-site domes will provide storage capacity for up to 90,000 metric tons of wood pellets. All handling equipment and storage facilities will be state-of-the-art. Enviva expects that the number of vessels calling the port will increase as it further develops production capacity in the region.

“I am thrilled to have Enviva Biomass as a Mississippi business partner. Their work in renewable energy is vital to the global economy,” said Mississippi Governor Phil Bryant. “This terminal at the Port of Pascagoula will help export wood pellets from the largest wood pellet plant in the world to markets in Asia and Europe. This project proves that Mississippi’s diversified network of infrastructure allows opportunity for companies to export products throughout the world.”

“The terminal and the associated rail relocation project have received tremendous support over the years from organizations and individuals too numerous to list but entities that contributed funding deserve special mention: in addition to Enviva, the Port, in conjunction with the Jackson County Board of Supervisors, the U.S. Department of Transportation, the Mississippi legislature, the governor’s office, and the Mississippi Department of Transportation all contributed funds towards the terminal project. The total investment is approximately $90 million, of which Enviva will fund about $60 million and the Jackson Port Authority will fund about $30 million. We have also received overwhelming support from our Mississippi delegation in Washington, D.C.,” said Mark McAndrews, port director.

Enviva’s executive vice-president of human capital Nic Lane said, “Today we take a major step in helping to meet the increasing global demand for sustainable biomass fuel, and to ensure greater security of supply to our customers, particularly for the rapidly growing demand from our Asian customers. We are thrilled to be partnering with one of the top-ranking ports in the U.S., the Port of Pascagoula, a major commercial engine and key driving force in local, regional, and international economies.”

The Pascagoula terminal and the Lucedale plant are an additional boost to Mississippi’s posture in the international trade arena. Enviva joins other major industry players that have operations in the Port of Pascagoula including Chevron Pascagoula Refinery, Ingalls Shipbuilding, Chemours, Gulf LNG Energy, VT Halter Marine, and ST Engineering Halter Marine Offshore.