The Project:
Carbon Yards HCO2 Mississippi is developed by EP Carbon to convert low-grade forest residues and pulpwood, materials that would otherwise be burned or left to decay, into a durable and verifiable form of long-term carbon removal. By unlocking the economics of forest restoration and management at scale, Carbon Yards generates highly durable and additional carbon removal credits at a very low cost, making high-integrity carbon dioxide removal accessible to a broader range of corporate buyers.
The Problem We Solve:
Shifting timber markets and the chronic oversupply of low-grade fiber across the U.S. Southeast have left millions of tons of low-value biomass with no viable economic destination and distressed forest assets untreated. Non-merchantable residues generated during thinning and restoration treatments have no commercial outlet and are typically burned on-site or left to decay, while pulpwood markets are chronically oversupplied, leaving harvested material underutilized. This lack of viable end markets limits the economic feasibility of practices such as selective thinning and fuel reduction, causing compounding forest health and rural livelihood problems. By creating a permanent, traceable end-use pathway for both material types, Carbon Yards transforms what is currently a waste stream or stranded commodity into a long-lived carbon storage asset that supports durable removals and healthier forests.
This model delivers immediate additionality by capturing and storing carbon that would otherwise be released to the atmosphere under business-as-usual conditions, while also enabling sustainable forest management practices that enhance forest growth and long-term sequestration on certified forestlands that would not otherwise occur. Together, these activities provide a dual source of additionality, and the engineered storage system ensures permanence by preventing re-emission of stored carbon for centuries. By combining these elements, Carbon Yards creates a complete and verifiable carbon removal outcome that unites avoided emissions, enhanced forest sequestration, and durable storage, resolving the long-standing challenge of coupling additionality with permanence in nature-based solutions.
How It Works:
The facility is located on a former gravel pit in Forrest County, Mississippi. Feedstock is sourced from certified forestry operations within a 90-mile radius, encompassing more than 16 million acres of managed forest land. Upon delivery, woodchips are treated on-site with a dry halite mixture that suppresses microbial activity through osmotic stress. The treated biomass is assembled into triangular prism-shaped stockpiles enclosed under fire-retardant, solar-reflective polyethylene covers, with apex vents positioned every 20 feet maintaining passive airflow and dry oxic conditions that prevent decomposition for more than 100 years. Each chamber is continuously monitored through sensors measuring temperature, relative humidity, carbon dioxide, and methane in real time, with all data managed through a centralized digital platform providing auditable records throughout the storage period.
Scale and Replicability:
Once fully operational, the facility will store approximately 187,500 green tons of biomass per year across 227 storage chambers on a 140-acre site, delivering a total of 532,134 tonnes of CO₂ removal over the project's crediting period. The model is designed to be modular and replicable, with plans to expand across the U.S. Southeast and the potential to scale wherever forest restoration treatments are needed and low-value biomass or pulpwood are oversupplied. As a U.S.-based initiative, the project offers buyers additional procurement certainty by avoiding Article 6-related delivery risk.
About EP Carbon
Ecological Carbon Offset Partners LLC (EP Carbon) is a U.S.-based carbon project developer and technical services partner with 15 years of experience, more than 69 projects, and 115 feasibility studies completed across carbon markets worldwide. The company designs, develops, and brings nature-based and engineered carbon projects to market under internationally recognized standards, partnering with forest owners, NGOs, and communities across Latin America, South Asia, Africa, and North America. EP Carbon created Forest Carbon Works, the leading aggregator for Improved Forest Management among U.S.-based smallholders, and its CEO, Dr. Kyle Holland, co-founded Chestnut Carbon with Kimmeridge private equity
