WBJune21pgs_cs.qxp_Wood Bioenergy Magazine 5/13/21 7:43 AM Page 8
■ in the news Drax Announces Arkansas Investment Drax Group will begin constructing the first of three new “satellite” pellet plants in Arkansas, the company has announced. The three plants are together expected to produce around 120,000 metric tons of sustainable biomass pellets a year from sawmill residues, supporting the renewable energy company’s plans to increase self-supply to its power station in the U.K. Drax will begin construction of the first plant later this month near a West Fraser sawmill in Leola, Grant County—with commissioning expected in October. The company will begin construction on two more plants in other locations in the coming months. In total, Drax will invest $40 million in the state, creating approximately 30 new direct jobs and many more indirect jobs across three Arkansas communities. The development of the satellite pellet plants is part of Drax’s strategy to increase biomass self-supply to five million tons by 2027, improving supply chain resilience while reducing pellet costs. Will Gardiner, Drax Group CEO, comments, “By building these new pellet plants Drax is bringing jobs and opportunities to rural communities in Arkansas, boosting the state’s post-COVID economic recovery. Through this investment, Arkansas will play an important role in combating climate change, supporting Drax to increase the amount of sustainable biomass we produce as part of our plans to pioneer bioenergy with carbon capture and storage. By using sustainable biomass, we have displaced coal-fired power generation, reduced carbon emissions and provided renewable electricity for millions of homes and businesses in the UK.” The Leola satellite pellet plant is expected to produce around 40,000 metric tons of sustainable biomass pellets a year. Drax will utilize the sawdust and other dry residual ma-
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terials from West Fraser’s co-located facility. By co-locating the pellet facilities with sawmills, Drax will benefit from lower infrastructure, operational and transportation costs. The company will host job fairs to recruit for positions at the Leola site in late May.
Enviva Move Forward On New Plants Enviva reports the possible development of a wood pellet plant in Bond, Miss., about 50 miles north of Gulfport. Enviva states it “recently advanced a site it controls in Bond, Mississippi to the next phase in its development process. This plant is expected to be designed to produce between 750,000 and more than 1 million tonnes per year.” Given its close proximity to the Port of Pascagoula, production from a Bond plant would be delivered to the Pascagoula terminal by truck for export worldwide. Construction is ongoing at Enviva’s deep-water marine terminal in Pascagoula, which will have throughput capacity of more than 3 million MTPY. Construction is expected to be completed in the middle of this year with the first shipment from the terminal expected later this year. When fully constructed, the Pascagoula terminal will be able to receive wood pellets by truck, rail and barge. Enviva reports that construction of a 750,000 tonnes wood pellet plant continues in Lucedale, Miss., with completion expected in the middle of this year. Enviva continues to move forward on the development of a wood pellet plant in Epes, Ala. Enviva has acquired a wood products mill adjacent the Epes site and is evaluating utilizing the existing infrastructure there to reduce installation costs of the Epes plant, as well as increasing the Epes plant’s production capacity to more than 1 million MTPY.
New Venture Forms Bioenergy Platform ReEnergy Biomass Operations LLC and Ember Infrastructure announced plans to enter into a joint venture to create a bioenergy platform. The company will be named ReGenerate Energy and will be led by team members from ReEnergy and Ember. The new company will acquire an ownership interest in ReEnergy’s two biomass power plants in Maine, ReEnergy Stratton and ReEnergy Livermore Falls, and will look to expand the platform through the acquisition of additional bioenergy assets across North America. Larry Richardson, CEO of ReEnergy Holdings and one of its cofounders, comments, “This is an exciting time in the history of ReEnergy. With the combination of Ember’s capital and experience in the energy industry, and ReEnergy’s expertise in the bioenergy sector, we look forward to a period of new growth and innovation.” The transaction is expected to close this summer. ReEnergy Biomass Operations LLC is a wholly owned subsidiary of ReEnergy Holdings LLC, which was formed in 2008 by a senior management team. ReEnergy Holdings LLC also owns ReEnergy Black River, a 60 MW biomass power facility located on the Fort Drum U.S. Army installation near Watertown, NY, and ReSource Waste Services LLC, which operates five facilities in New England that recycle construction and demolition waste materials. The 48 MW ReEnergy Stratton and 39 MW ReEnergy Livermore Falls facilities support 50 direct jobs, more than 300 indirect jobs, spend more than $30 million annually and purchase more than 700,000 tons of fuel each year from Maine loggers/truckers and mills. Founded in 2018, Ember is a New York-based private equity firm delivering capital solutions to businesses and assets seeking to reduce
Wood Bioenergy / June 2021
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