Enviva Announces Execution of Lease Option at Port of Pascagoula
BETHESDA, MD —August 6, 2019—Enviva Holdings, LP (“Enviva” or “the Company”), the world’s largest producer of wood pellets, today announced that it exercised an option with the Jackson County Port Authority to lease property in the Bayou Casotte Harbor in the Port of Pascagoula, Mississippi, where it plans to build and operate a deep-water marine terminal. Enviva intends to use the Pascagoula terminal to ship sustainably sourced wood pellets under long-term contracts with customers across Europe and Asia who are seeking to reduce their carbon footprint.
“The Port of Pascagoula is a key asset for global commerce and an economic engine for Mississippi,” said John Keppler, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Enviva. “We appreciate the leadership of Governor Phil Bryant and Lieutenant Governor Tate Reeves for creating a pro-business environment in Mississippi. This project is only possible because of the hard work of dozens of officials in Jackson County including the Port Authority, Mayor Dane Maxwell, Senator Michael Watson, Representative Charles Busby, the Board of Supervisors, and the Port Authority Board of Commissioners. They were instrumental in helping us secure this critical component of our supply chain, which will enable us to export our product to meet the increasing demand from our Asian, European, and Caribbean customers.”
Enviva plans to invest over $60 million to build the new Pascagoula terminal, which is expected to directly employ approximately 30 full-time workers and support about 150 direct and indirect jobs during construction.
“With the execution of this lease option, we are proud to advance our partnership with Enviva. This day marks the start of a major venture for both Jackson and George Counties. It is not only an economic opportunity for the region, but also a natural fit for Mississippi’s renewable natural resources and access to international markets via the Port of Pascagoula,” said Pascagoula Port Director Mark McAndrews.
“The Port, Enviva, and our state, federal, and local officials have been working together for several years to coordinate the logistics and the economics necessary to bring this project to fruition. Today is the day we move forward,” concluded Mr. McAndrews.
Exercising the lease option allows Enviva to prepare the site for construction of the Pascagoula terminal, which it expects to complete in the second half of 2020. The Pascagoula terminal is designed to handle approximately three million metric tons of wood pellets annually and will allow Enviva to construct several wood pellet production plants in Mississippi and Alabama, with the first plant expected to be built in Lucedale, Mississippi simultaneously with the Pascagoula terminal.
The Pascagoula terminal will be capable of receiving product by rail, barge, and truck, storing up to 90,000 metric tons of wood pellets on site, and supporting Panamax-sized vessels. It will utilize state-of-the-art handling equipment and storage infrastructure designed to maintain product quality and safety.
To learn more about Enviva, please visit our website at www.envivabiomass.com.
About Enviva Holdings, LP
Enviva Holdings, LP is the world’s largest producer of wood pellets, a renewable and sustainable energy source used to generate electricity and heat. Through its subsidiaries, Enviva Holdings, LP owns and operates wood pellet processing plants and deep-water export terminals in the Southeastern United States. We export our pellets primarily to power plants in the United Kingdom and Europe that previously were fueled by coal, enabling them to reduce their lifetime carbon footprint by about 80 percent. We make our pellets using sustainable practices that protect Southern forests and employ about 1,000 people and support many other businesses in the rural South, where jobs and economic opportunity are sometimes scarce. Enviva Holdings, LP conducts its activities primarily through two entities: Enviva Partners, LP, a publicly-traded master limited partnership (NYSE: EVA), and Enviva Development Holdings, LLC, a wholly owned private company. To learn more about Enviva Holdings, LP, please visit our website at www.envivabiomass.com and follow us on Facebook (www.facebook.com/envivabiomass) and Twitter (@EnvivaBiomass).
Cautionary Note Concerning Forward-Looking Statements
Certain statements and information in this press release, including those concerning future results of operations, acquisition opportunities, and distributions, may constitute “forward-looking statements.” The words “believe,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “plan,” “intend,” “foresee,” “should,” “would,” “could,” or other similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements, which are generally not historical in nature. These forward-looking statements are based on our current expectations and beliefs concerning future developments and their potential effects. Although management believes that these forward-looking statements are reasonable when made, there can be no assurance that future developments will be those that management anticipates. These forward-looking statements involve significant risks and uncertainties (some of which are beyond our control) and assumptions that could cause actual results to differ materially from our historical experience and our present expectations or projections.
