Drax Gets Satellite Pellet Plant Going
Drax Group is ramping up to full production at Leola—the first of three new satellite pellet plants it plans for Arkansas. Leola, in Grant County, is part of a $40 million investment by Drax in the state, creating approximately 30 new jobs across all the three sites planned for Arkansas as well as many more indirect jobs.
Including Leola, Drax operates six pellet plants in the U.S., which use biomass sourced from sustainably managed working forests in Louisiana, Arkansas and Mississippi. The three satellite plants in Arkansas are expected to produce a total of 120,000 tonnes of wood pellets per year from sawmill residues. This supports Drax’s plans to double its pellet production capacity to 8 million tonnes by 2030 to meet its own requirements, as well as its customers’ needs in Europe and Asia, amid an expected increase in global demand for the low-carbon fuel.
The satellite plants are located near sawmills, so they can use the sawdust and other byproducts. Construction of the second Arkansas satellite plant in Russellville, Pope County, is underway with commissioning expected this year. Drax is continuing to develop plans for a third plant.
The pellets produced at the new satellite plants will be transported to Bruce Oakley terminal in Little Rock, Ark. before being shipped south to Louisiana to oceangoing vessels. Each pellet plant is expected to produce 40kt per year.
Latest News
North American Timber Harvests Up For Fourth Consecutive Year
Timber harvests in North America were up for the fourth consecutive year in 2013, reaching 510 million m3, based on analysis by WRI (Wood Resource International). Despite an annual increase of three percent each of the past four years, harvest levels in North America...
U.S. Lumber Prices Soften In Seasonal Slowdown
U.S. lumber prices softened in mid-September on a seasonal lull in construction industry orders during another year in which hopes for strong gains in housing starts were disappointed, industry experts said. The framing lumber composite price, an industry benchmark...
Behind The Scenes
Story by David Abbott, Senior Associate Editor In late July and early August my job took me to Ohio and West Virginia, primarily on behalf of companion periodical Timber Harvesting magazine. I was assigned to pick up the story on the Caudill family, which was named...
Find Us On Social
Newsletter
The monthly Timber Processing Industry Newsletter reaches over 4,000 mill owners and supervisors.
Subscribe/Renew
Timber Processing is delivered 10 times per year to subscribers who represent sawmill ownership, management and supervisory personnel and corporate executives. Subscriptions are FREE to qualified individuals.
Advertise
Complete the online form so we can direct you to the appropriate Sales Representative.