(AP) — The U.S. Department of Commerce has awarded an $857,000 grant to the George County Board of Supervisors to make roadway and water improvements to accommodate the construction of a wood pellet plant near Lucedale, Mississippi. Green Circle Bio Energy, Inc. announced in June that the $115 million plant will produce up to 500,000 tons of pellets per year. Wood pellets are shipped overseas to European utilities plants to use as biomass energy that complies with their stricter sustainability guidelines. The pellets are made from a mix of soft and hard woods.
The facility is expected to be operational by spring 2015. Green Circle is wholly owned by the JCE Group, a privately owned international investment company headquartered in Gothenburg, Sweden.