UK-headed Drax Group, a leading global producer and user of sustainable biomass is ramping up to full production at Leola – the first of three new satellite pellet plants it plans for Arkansas (AR) in the United States (US).
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Leola, in Grant County, Arkansas (AR) is part of a US$40 million investment by Drax in the state, creating approximately 30 new direct jobs across all the three sites planned for Arkansas as well as many more indirect jobs.
Using sawmill residues
The satellite plants are located near sawmills, so they can use the sawdust and other by-products produced when timber is processed, to make the pellets. Siting the pellet facilities near sawmills reduces infrastructure, operational, and transportation costs.
Each pellet plant is expected to produce 40 000 tonnes per year, with the cluster expected to produce 120 000 tonnes per annum.
The pellets will be transported to Bruce Oakley Terminal in Little Rock, AR before being shipped south to Louisiana to oceangoing vessels. The pellets are used at Drax Power Station in the UK to generate renewable electricity for millions of UK homes and businesses.
Drax has made excellent progress in delivering our US$40m investment in Arkansas, with Leola – the first of three planned satellite pellet plants – now in operation. The investments we’re making will bring 30 direct jobs and many more indirect jobs and opportunities to rural communities in Arkansas alongside supporting international efforts to tackle climate change, said Matt White, Drax EVP Pellet Operations.
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.
Targetting 8 million tonnes capacity by 2030
Including Leola, and its acquisition of Canada-headed Pinnacle Renewable Energy Inc in 2021, Drax currently operates six pellet plants in the United States, which use biomass sourced from sustainably managed working forests in Louisiana (LA), Arkansas (AR), and Mississippi (MS).
In total Drax Group has 13 operational pellet plants in North America with a nameplate capacity of around 4 million tonnes, plus a further two plants currently commissioning and other developments/expansions which will increase this to 5 million tonnes once complete.
Drax is targeting 8 million tonnes of production capacity 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 low-carbon fuel. The plans will require the development of over 3 million tonnes of new biomass pellet production capacity.
Drax’s conversion of its UK power station to sustainable biomass from coal was Europe’s largest decarbonization project, reducing emissions from Drax’s power generation by 90 percent since 2012.
Sustainable biomass is enabling Drax’s plans to deploy bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS) – a pioneering negative emissions technology that permanently removes millions of tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO2) from the atmosphere.
These plants support Drax’s plans to develop bioenergy with carbon capture and storage – a vital negative emissions technology that will be needed around the world to tackle the climate emergency, ended Matt White.
