WATERSOUND, FL-Developer The St. Joe Company reports it has inked a Letter of Intent with Cottondale, FL-based Green Circle Bio Energy Inc. on several projects in the Northwest region of the state.

St. Joe reports that Green Circle, a producer of biomass based renewable energy, is interested in leasing a site from St. Joe along the AN Railway here to develop a wood pellet production facility. Green Circle operates the world's second largest wood pellet plant in Cottondale that employs 81 workers and infuses more than $70 million in the local community. Green Circle and St. Joe also intend to enter into a wood fiber supply agreement as part of a definite agreement to be negotiated between the parties. The wood pellets produced at the new production facility can be transported via truck or AN Railway to the Port of Port St. Joe for further shipment to overseas markets. Additionally, bulk cargo port facilities are being considered for development at the Port site to accommodate Green Circle's shipping needs, company officials state.

“The relationship between Green Circle and St. Joe is a step toward creating jobs and revitalizing the Port of Port St. Joe,” says Park Brady, CEO for The St. Joe Company. “A viable business is ready to use the Port and rail access to the Port site is being improved; the missing link to an operational Port is the necessary dredging improvements to the shipping channel.”

“We are excited about the possibility of leveraging our strong presence in Northwest Florida, further job and economic development in the region, and look forward to the successful dredging improvements of the shipping channel,” says Morten Neraas, CEO for Green Circle Bio Energy, Inc.