Arkansas-based wood pellet manufacturer Highland Pellets LLC has plans to build a biomass power plant and install carbon capture technology to supply renewable energy to its Pine Bluff factory, according to a permit application submitted to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Little Rock District.
Highland is asking the Corps to approve a Clean Water Act permit for “Project Oscar,” which would be located on a 38-acre parcel just north of the existing Highland Pellets facility. The company says the infrastructure would supply energy for both the pellet plant itself and “adjacent industries,” according to the permit.
Specific details about the project are unclear. The application didn’t mention the project’s cost, and a company representative couldn’t be reached for comment.
The proposed power plant would produce enough electricity to power “most if not all” of the existing pellet plant, according to the application. Components of the construction would include a biomass boiler, steam turbine generator and “associated cooling equipment,” which would supply behind-the-meter electrical power to the pellet plant.
Behind-the-meter power refers to energy generation or storage, like a battery, that is located on a customer’s property. The plant is currently by Entergy Arkansas Inc.
Independent reporting for Pine Bluff & Jefferson County since 1881.
The heat generated from the project will be transferred to a nearby Tyson Foods Inc. poultry plant, according to the company’s application.
Highland Pellets was established in 2016 and produces about 744,000 tons of wood pellets per year. It employs around 125 at the plant itself. In 2023, it acquired Fiber Resources.
The company is also asking to install infrastructure for carbon capture, a term referring to technologies that capture carbon dioxide released by burning fossil fuels. That gas is then compressed to become liquid-like and transported to a storage site, usually through a pipeline, according to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
According to the permit, the carbon dioxide released by the plant will be captured, compressed, liquefied and stored in a Class VI well. Class IV wells are used to inject carbon dioxide into deep rock formations, according to the Environmental Protection Agency.
The plant is currently permitted to emit roughly 332 pounds of carbon dioxide per hour, the per-hour equivalent of 383 miles driven by an average gasoline-powered passenger vehicle.
There are roughly 45 commercial carbon capture facilities in operation, with 150 more in development, according to the Center for Climate and Energy Solutions.
Carbon capture comes with its own challenges, including selecting the storage location. If a site’s geography isn’t studied extensively, the carbon could escape back to the surface. Opponents of carbon capture say the technology is a means by which polluters can delay the transition to clean energy.
The Biden administration offered federal dollars for carbon capture efforts across the country, including $2.3 billion on three efforts to study the feasibility of carbon capture technology.
The parcel for the project is owned by Jefferson County, according to county property records. Jefferson County Judge Gerald Robinson couldn’t be reached for comment. Alliance Technical Group, listed as the company’s agent on the application, couldn’t be reached for comment.
Lucas Dufalla is a Report for America Corps member. Financial support for this coverage came from the Community Journalism Project.