A Mississippi plant that produces wood pellets to be used a biomass fuel in a European power station has reportedly violated the state’s air pollution limits.

The Guardian news services reports that Amite Bio Energy, a plant in southwest Mississippi, has been notified that it has violated emission rules. 

Amite BioEnergy, a Gloster, Mississippi, plant owned by United Kingdom power generator Drax, converts trees into wooden pellets used as biomass fuel in a large power station in North Yorkshire, England.

According to the Guardian, MDEQ officials notified the company in March that the plant had exceeded the amount of allowable hazardous air pollutants in 2021 into 2022. The company is permitted to emit 24 tons a year of hazardous air pollutants on a rolling 12-month basis. Between January 2021 and December 2022, the company had reached 37 tons of pollutants.

In 2021, Amite was fined $2.5 million after breaching air pollution rules. It is unclear whether the latest breach will lead to a financial penalty.

According to its website, the Drax Group is a renewable energy company engaged in renewable power generation, the production of sustainable biomass and the sale of renewable electricity to businesses.

The company operates a global bioenergy supply business with manufacturing facilities at 13 sites in the United States and Canada, producing compressed wood pellets for its own use and for customers in Europe and Asia.

Drax operates a generation portfolio of sustainable biomass, hydro-electric and pumped hydro storage assets across four sites in England and Scotland. It is the UK’s largest source of renewable electricity.

The Group employs 3,400 people in the UK and North America.