Stone County Enviva plant leaders give updated timeline

STONE COUNTY, Miss. (WLOX) - Last month, Enviva’s planned wood pellet plant in Stone County got the go-ahead with an approved permit from the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality.

Enviva chief development officer Mark Coscio tells WLOX the groundwork for construction will begin later this year.

“Really at the beginning of next year you’ll start seeing quite a bit of construction activity,” Coscio said.

The goal calls for the plant to be up and running by the summer of 2025. The planned development will produce 1.1 million tons of pellets a year. The pellets provide a low-carbon energy alternative to fossil fuels.

Some have expressed concerns over the plant. 350 Stone County residents signed a petition wanting more accountability from Enviva to follow emission regulations. According to Coscio, the facility will be designed with safety and efficiency as top priorities.

“This is going to have our lowest carbon footprint per ton produced,” Coscio said. “It will be the most efficient plant to date and it will be the safest plant.”

Enviva is receiving millions of dollars in incentives to build in Stone County. Those incentives include $1.3 million in work to Highway 49 to improve access to the facility along with $2.5 million in utility improvements for the water supply needed for the plant.

Documents WLOX requested show the agreement to bring the plant to Stone County requires Enviva to produce 100 jobs within four years or the company would have to repay some of the public’s multi-million dollar investment.

Coscio fully expects those jobs to be available with positions including plant managers, operators, maintenance and community relations.

“We believe we should fill the vast majority of the positions if not all of the positions locally. That’s what we’re striving to do,” he said.

The Stone County plant will join two other Enviva facilities in South Mississippi, those are in George County and the Port of Pascagoula.

Coscio said initially the pellets produced in Stone County will be taken by truck to Pascagoula for shipment around the world. Also, a rail option from the plant is also being explored.

Enviva currently operates ten wood pellet production plants across the United States. The Stone County plant is one of four new facilities planned.

For more information on Enviva, check out their website at https://www.envivabiomass.com/.

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