Enviva, Port Of Pascagoula Celebrate New Terminal With Ribbon Cutting

Representatives from Enviva Inc., a leading producer of sustainably sourced woody biomass, and officials from the Port of Pascagoula, Miss., gathered at the port November 30 to celebrate the opening and operation of Enviva’s deepwater marine terminal there.

Enviva and the Jackson County Port Authority broke ground on the terminal in 2019 and have since invested more than $90 million in the facility, which can receive wood pellets by rail, barge and truck and berth Panamax-sized vessels. In addition, the facility features a pair of wood pellet storage domes that have a total storage capacity of 90,000 metric tons.

At the facility, Enviva will export wood pellets, sustainably sourced from the surrounding region, to customers in Asia, Europe and the Caribbean. According to the company, the majority of future shipments are bound for Japan.

Green Investment

“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,” Enviva President and CEO Thomas Meth said. “Supplying the global demand for more renewable, dispatchable, alternative energy sources continues to be made possible by the dedicated men and women 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.”

Enviva employs close to 30 people at the terminal and more than 400 throughout Jackson, Harrison and George counties. The company refers to the region as its “Pascagoula Cluster,” which includes the pellet plant in Lucedale, Miss., and future plants in Epes, Ala., and Bond, Miss.

“This new terminal is a win for Pascagoula, our Gulf Coast and all of Mississippi,” Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves said. “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 terminal came online back in June, with the UBC Sacramento departing with 18,000 metric tons of wood pellets that were bound for the Caribbean islands of Guadeloupe and Martinique. About the same time as the ceremonial ribbon cutting, Enviva loaded 47,500 metric tons of pellets on a ship bound for Japan.

“Enviva has been a great partner in developing and opening the terminal at the Port of Pascagoula, further connecting the Magnolia State to international markets,” said Mark McAndrews, director of the Port of Pascagoula. “Enviva cares about the communities they serve, the people they employ and the product they produce, which reduces greenhouse gas emissions on a lifecycle basis in homes and industries across the world.”

“Jackson County recognizes Enviva’s confidence in our county and the state of Mississippi with this symbiotic public-private partnership,” said Ken Taylor with the Jackson County Board of Supervisors. “The combined investment by Enviva and our port authority provides much-needed jobs and economic growth for Jack, Harrison and George counties.”

While the majority of the woody biomass Enviva produces is used in power and heat generation, wood pellets are increasingly being used as a renewable feedstock for the production of steel, cement, lime, chemicals and aviation fuel. With that in view, Enviva plans to more than double its production capacity in the next four to five years from 6.2 million metric tons per year to close to 13 million metric tons per year. The company currently owns and operates 10 plants scattered across the states of Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida and Mississippi. Besides Enviva’s terminal in Pascagoula, the company also has terminals at the Port of Chesapeake, Va., and the Port of Wilmington, N.C., while also moving pellets through third-party terminals in Savannah, Ga., Mobile, Ala., and Panama City, Fla.