The company that owns a $140 million wood pellet manufacturing plant in Lucedale and a $60 million shipping terminal at the Port of Pascagoula is closing its facility in northeast Mississippi. Enviva LLC announced that the biomass plant in Amory would close on February 7.
Enviva is the world’s largest supplier of wood pellets. The Amory facility was the company’s first plant in the United States, and it was acquired in 2010.
The closure is the latest in a string of setbacks for Enviva, which began operations at its Lucedale plant in 2022. Locals praised the job creation and economic development for George County at the time, while critics warned of the operation’s potential environmental damage.
Enviva filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in March 2024, seeking to restructure its $2.6 billion debt. The company, based in Maryland, emerged from bankruptcy nine months later, in December.
It now operates as a private company with a new management team.
Company looking at all operations
Any future expansion will occur without the Amory wood pellet plant.
“As part of our post-emergence exercises, we are reviewing the overall operational efficiencies of our entire fleet,” the company told the Sun Herald.
“Due to market dynamics and the Amory facility’s infrastructure and operations, along with the relationship of its size and scale relative to the rest of our portfolio, it has been decided resources are better invested in other areas moving forward,” according to the organization.
What does that mean in South Mississippi? Enviva was welcomed to South Mississippi with millions of dollars in grants and incentives based on job creation.
The Mississippi Development Authority awarded the company $4 million for a water tank, well, and other infrastructure in Lucedale, while George County offered tax breaks and other incentives to attract the company. Enviva said it will continue to operate in Lucedale and Pascagoula, where it employs approximately 100 people.
Will Enviva build in Bond?
The company also intended to build another plant in Bond, near Wiggins, in Stone County. When the company filed for Chapter 11, the project was put on hold.
Enviva did not provide an update on whether the facility is planned for the future. The company thanked those who helped build the Amory facility and said in a statement, “Enviva remains committed to manufacturing high-quality sustainable wood pellets and focused on the long-term success of our business as we navigate these changes.”
