A decade after British energy firm Drax opened wood pellet mills in struggling Southern towns, places like Urania, Louisiana, and Gloster, Mississippi, continue to decline economically and face health issues from pollution. Despite promises of jobs and growth, the mills employ far fewer workers than predecessors and benefit from substantial tax breaks. Residents report persistent poverty and environmental harms without the anticipated prosperity.
In central Louisiana, Mayor Jay Ivy drives through the remnants of Urania's once-thriving lumber industry, where a massive smokestack now stands as a relic. The Urania mill closed in 2002, displacing over 350 workers and leaving the town in decline. British company Drax arrived around 2015, opening its largest U.S. pellet mill outside Urania in late 2017, drawn by cheap timber and lax regulations. Then-Governor John Bel Edwards praised Drax in 2018 for investing in the state, promising jobs and economic revival.
Yet Urania's population has halved to about 700 since 2010, with 40% living in poverty and an average income of $12,400—far below the national figure. In nearby Gloster, Mississippi, where Drax built a mill in 2014, the population hovers at 850, with over 10% unemployment and household incomes around $22,500, less than half the state median. Each Drax facility employs 70 to 80 people, a stark contrast to the hundreds at former mills like Georgia Pacific in Gloster, which shut in 2008.
Residents in both towns cite noise, dust, and toxic emissions like formaldehyde and methanol from the mills, which state regulators have fined repeatedly for violations. Jimmy Brown, a former Gloster worker, called Drax a 'false solution,' noting lost schools, doctors, and rising respiratory issues. Mill manager Tommy Barbo boasts of efficiency, processing whole trees into pellets shipped 8,000 miles to England, but locals see little benefit.
Drax has secured $75 million in Louisiana property tax exemptions and $4.3 million in Mississippi incentives, while its profits climbed to $1.4 billion in 2024. U.S. pellet exports surged from 2 million tons in 2012 to 11 million in 2024, fueled by EU subsidies classifying wood as renewable since 2009. Despite Drax's $150-200 million annual economic impact claims and charitable donations, critics like Krystal Martin argue it builds goodwill amid harms without substantial local investment.