LIVINGSTON, ALA. — Maryland-based Enviva, a producer of wood pellets, has unveiled plans to build a facility in Livingston, 60 miles southwest of Tuscaloosa. The Alabama Department of Environmental Management (ADEM) issued an air construction permit for the facility, which will be located at the Port of Epes Industrial Park and represents an initial investment of $175 million. The facility will produce wood pellets as an energy source and create openings for 85 full-time jobs, with additional jobs anticipated to construct and support the plant.
The Livingston facility will be part of Epes’ collection of pellet plants in Mississippi and Alabama. The wood pellets from the Epes plant will be transported via the nearby Tennessee-Tombigbee River to Enviva’s planned deep-water marine terminal in Pascagoula, Miss. and exported then to Europe and Asia. The plant’s planned capacity is expected to be 1.2 million metric tons of wood pellets per year. Enviva expects to be ready for construction in early 2020, subject to final investment approval. Enviva expects to deliver the facility in 15 to 18 months.