The largest wood pellet producer in the world broke ground this summer on what was to be its largest facility yet, located in rural west Alabama.

Enviva, an energy company that specializes in producing wood pellets that can be burned to generate electricity, acquired the more than 300 acres in the Epes Industrial Park on the Tombigbee River in Sumter County for its new pellet mill. When completed, the facility was to produce 1.1 million metric tons of pellets per year. The plant was expected to open by mid-2024 and reach full production in 2025.

But now the future of the facility and the company itself is up in the air after reporting massive third-quarter losses and raising major doubt about its ability to simply keep operating.

Enviva’s share price plunged nearly 78% on Thursday to 85 cents “after a new interim chief executive officer delivered a sobering third-quarter earnings call that raised questions about the company’s viability, blaming unfavorable wood pellet pricing, problems at a plant in Virginia, higher interest expenses and other factors,” according to an Inside Climate News report.

According to MarketWatch, “Enviva issued a going-concern warning and said it has hired advisers as it assesses its options, including renegotiating customer contracts and cutting costs.” Staff reports

Are we missing a publicly traded local or state company that should be on this list? Please pass along your suggestions to Lede producer Brent Conklin at [email protected].