Peter Madden

When International Paper announced recently that it is closing its Savannah and Riceboro mills at the end of September, it sent shockwaves through Coastal Georgia, stripping away an estimated 1,100 jobs, disrupting supply chains and underscoring a larger truth—the pulp and paper industry that has long defined the South is in steep decline. And this is not just a Georgia story. Nearly 50 mills have closed nationwide during the past decade, dismantling infrastructure and supply chains that cannot easily be rebuilt. In the past three years alone, major facilities have shut down in Charleston and Georgetown, SC, Orange, TX, Campti, LA, Cedar Springs, GA and Chillicothe, OH. Much of the decline reflects broader shifts in demand for certain paper products… So, what if the byproducts of our forests, once used to make paper, were redirected to meet the very energy needs created by the decline of certain paper products? Biomass energy offers that pathway.