Woody biomass producer Enviva has opened its marine export terminal at the Port of Pascagoula, Mississippi that will be used to export wood pellets from the Gulf of Mexico to power and utility customers across Asia, Europe and the Caribbean.
The firm has invested more than $90 million since 2019 to build the terminal at the port with the intent to export sustainably sourced wood pellets from local forests. Majority of the shipments from this terminal are slated for Japan.
The opening of the terminal aligns with the firm’s mission to reduce GHG emissions on a lifecycle basis in power, heat and heavy industries within the country and overseas.
The new terminal includes two storage domes with storage capacity of 90,000 metric tons.
“This new terminal is a win for Pascagoula, our Gulf Coast, and all of Mississippi,” said Governor Tate Reeves. “Its opening not only further strengthens supply chain infrastructure but expands our economic contributions to the global energy market. Congratulations to Enviva on this exciting launch and I look forward to seeing these Mississippi-made products shared with the world.”
The new terminal is the shipment point for Enviva’s newly formed “Pascagoula Cluster” which includes the Lucedale plant and the upcoming Epes, Alabama and Bond plants in Mississippi.
Woody mass is typically used to de-fossilize power and heat generation but modern biomass is also being used as a renewable alternative in the hard-to-abate sectors, like steel, cement, lime, chemicals and aviation fuel.
Over the next four to five years, the company intends to double production capacity from 6.2 million metric tons annually to approximately 13 million metric tons per year.
“The future has never looked brighter for green jobs, green investment, and the global need to implement true climate change solutions into international economies and supply chains,” said Thomas Meth, President and Chief Executive Officer of Enviva. “Supplying the global demand for more renewable, dispatchable, alternative energy sources continues to be made possible by the dedicated men and woman in southern Mississippi that transport Enviva’s product reliably and safely around the world. Now operational, we will be regularly sending off ships filled with our sustainably sourced wood pellets made in Mississippi by Mississippians.”
