BETHESDA, Md. -- Enviva Inc. announced plans to accelerate the doubling of wood pellet production capacity by constructing six plants over the next five years.

Enviva said its plans include adding a third plant in its Pascagoula, Miss., cluster and constructing new plants around Savannah, Ga., and in the mid-Atlantic regions, with the capability to build and commission two plants per year, up from one per year. According to Enviva, each of the new plants will represent an investment of $200 million to $250 million with the “nameplate capacity” of converting low-grade wood fiber into 1.1 million metric tons of wood pellets per year.

Enviva projects that its annual production capacity will increase from 6.2 million metric tons to approximately 13 million metric tons five years hence.

In addition, Enviva said it signed a memorandum of understanding with its first U.S.-based customer to develop a supply chain strategy to support the customer’s biofuel refining facilities in the Southeast U.S. and potentially California. The company said it would evaluate building production capacity in California to potentially utilize fiber in high-hazard zones to mitigate wildfire risk and improve the climate benefits of forests in the West.

“We are extremely excited about the growth in Enviva’s business and our first MOU with a U.S. customer,” said John Keppler, chairman and chief executive officer of Enviva. “Efforts around the world to decarbonize in order to meet net zero by 2050 continue to accelerate, giving companies like ours the tremendous opportunity to grow even more rapidly and expand the global supply chain as necessary to continue to facilitate the energy transition and mitigate the greenhouse gas emissions profile of hard-to-abate industries such as steel, cement, lime, and biofuels, including sustainable aviation fuels.”