Drax building 2nd wood-pellet plant

Drax Group, based in the United Kingdom, has begun construction on the second of three pellet plants in Arkansas, the company and the Arkansas Economic Development Commission said Friday.

The latest plant is in Russellville, with operations expected to begin next year, Drax said. The first plant is in Leola (Grant County). The location of the third plant hasn’t been announced. The plants are called “satellite” operations because they are near sawmills that provide the sawdust used to manufacture the wood pellets.

The three plants represent a $40 million investment in Arkansas, producing about 120,000 tons of pellets each year, Drax said. About 30 workers will be at the three plants.

The wood pellets are exported to the U.K. to fuel Drax’s power station there.

The company, which acquired 11 pellet plants in the U.S. and Canada last month, is working to reduce biomass costs with a goal of being carbon negative by 2030. “This technology has the potential to remove millions of tons of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere,” Drax said.