The best part about this biomass story is the part that isn’t in the story. Last week I spoke with representatives from Enviva LP about the company’s recent announcement regarding the $120 million senior secured credit facility (loan) the company has received to finish construction at two pellet mills and a deep water export terminal. The mood throughout the company could be described using several terms or simply with one word: excited. Steve Reeves, executive vice president and CFO at Enviva said that the company is delighted by the strong show of confidence from leaders in the banking industry, adding that the confidence shows that banks feel Enviva and biomass-based investments are “certainly sound.”

 

An argument could be made that such a statement regarding the confidence banks are now showing in biomass-based investments or loans (or at least in Enviva) represents the main takeaway from this story. But, a request from Enviva to tweak the story after it was originally posted might be just as important to note as the idea of confidence that is displayed in the announcement.

 

Initially, the story only included three banks that participated in the financial deal, but now, as the updated story shows, there are four banks. The fourth bank decided that it wanted to be included in the list, and I gladly made the addition. Why did the fourth bank make the request? I’ll leave that up for interpretation, but I would like to think that a request to be added as a participant in a biomass-based investment deal shows that this bank (like the others already included) not only believes in the “soundness” of biomass, but wants those in the industry to know it.