BY ANDREW FAISON/CONTRIBUTING WRITER
andrew.faison@tidewaternews.com

FRANKLIN—Construction on the Enviva Pellets Southampton plant at the Turner Tract Industrial Park is on schedule according to Director of Marketing and Communications at Enviva Elizabeth Woodworth.

“Things are coming along really well,” Woodworth said.

She said the construction process would speed up once Enviva’s Northampton facility, located near Roanoke Rapids, N.C., comes online.

“Our strategy is to use template facilities,” Woodworth said. “We’re learning to be more efficient in the construction process as we go along.”

Enviva in July broke ground to develop a $91 million wood pellet plant at the industrial park along Rose Valley Road. The plant will create 72 jobs. Construction is expected to take 18 months to complete, with a startup planned for the second half of 2013.

“We are so excited to be in Southampton County and can’t wait for the plant to be online,” Woodworth said. “We even bought Southampton peanuts and sent them as company Christmas gifts.”

Based in Bethesda, Md., Enviva is the world’s largest producer of solid biomass fuels whose primary customers are European utility companies attempting to reduce their carbon footprint.

“We are committed to hiring locally not only for construction, but as well as running the facilities,” Woodworth said.

To apply for a job, go to www.envivabiomass.com or mail a copy of your resume to Enviva LP, 7200 Wisconsin Ave, Suite 1100, Bethesda, MD 20814.