WASHINGTON: The Enviva wood pellet domes at the Port of Wilmington are operational and began loading the first export shipment to Europe last week. The Enviva terminal, which includes two storage domes that can hold up to 45,000 metric tons of wood pellets each, is estimated to have a total impact on the local economy of more than $16 million per year and ship more than 1 million tons of pellets annually. “The Port of Wilmington is a key nexus for global commerce and an economic engine for the state of North Carolina,” said John Keppler, Enviva CEO. “We are excited to be an important part of the port’s ever-increasing volume of trade.”
Wood pellets can be delivered to the Port of Wilmington by both truck and rail. The rail link has the capacity to handle approximately 50 percent of the total volume with the remainder of the product arriving by truck. “The Enviva domes are an important part of our ports modernization plan,” said Paul J. Cozza, North Carolina Ports executive director. “This project will increase bulk exports, thus expanding the business of our general terminals which is a vital portion of our strategic plan.”
With facilities that include the terminal at the Port of Wilmington and the Enviva wood pellet production facility in Sampson County, Enviva employs over 100 people in the Cape Fear Region and anticipates an annual economic impact of approximately $160 million. The company has signed a 21-year lease with two, five-year renewal options with North Carolina Ports. “This is about furthering our economic contribution to the City of Wilmington and the State of North Carolina,” said Tom Adams, North Carolina Ports chairman. “On top of the 100 jobs Enviva has created, there are nearly 200 additional jobs supported by their shipping, trucking and logging needs and the economic activity those jobs create.”
In addition to Enviva, another public-private partnership, the Port of Wilmington cold storage facility (PWCS) recently started its operation at the Port of Wilmington. PWCS is a 101,000-square-foot refrigerated warehouse used to maintain specific temperatures for the storage of perishable goods, such as fruits, vegetables and proteins. The warehouse is located within the gates at the Port of Wilmington and is not only the first on-port cold storage facility in North Carolina, but one of a select few such facilities in the entire nation. North Carolina’s ports in Wilmington and Morehead City, plus inland terminals in Charlotte and in Greensboro, link the state’s consumers, businesses and industry to world markets, and serve as magnets to attract new business and industry to the State of North Carolina. Port activities contribute statewide to 76,000 jobs and $700 million each year in state and local tax revenues.
