Domtar Hawesville Mill
Large load · 58 WESCOR RD, Hawesville, KY
Domtar's Hawesville mill is an integrated pulp and paper plant in Hancock County, Kentucky, linked to the Ohio River by a mile-long chip conveyor. The company's fact sheet, with data current as of December 31, 2025, lists one fiber line, two paper machines, 412,000 air-dry metric tons of annual pulp capacity, 596,000 short tons of annual paper capacity and 478 employees. The mill is owned by Domtar Paper Co. LLC, part of the Paper Excellence Group. It runs a 52 MW onsite cogeneration plant and buys standby power from Big Rivers Electric and its member cooperative Kenergy for outages at that plant.
Overview
- Contracted demand
- 52 MW
- operating
Domtar takes standby service from Big Rivers Electric Corporation through its member cooperative Kenergy Corp. to cover planned and unplanned outages at its cogeneration facility. Its January 2023 complaint to the Kentucky Public Service Commission says Kenergy ended a 21-year rate structure effective March 31, 2023, after Big Rivers won approval of a Pilot Large Industrial Customer Standby Service tariff. The complaint says the pilot would cover up to 52 MW of standby for Domtar at higher-of cost or market energy pricing, and that Domtar would pay $3.4 million more for the same service. Domtar's testimony in Big Rivers' 2023 standby tariff case, number 2023-00312, addressed the same rate change.
Profile
- Onsite cogeneration
- Domtar constructed its 52 MW onsite cogeneration facility at the Hawesville mill in 2001. According to Murray Hewitt's testimony in case 2023-00312, the plant's boilers are fueled by tree bark, sawdust and wood, and the system qualifies as a Qualifying Facility under the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978. The steam it produces supports papermaking and power generation at the mill. When that plant is out for planned or unplanned work, the mill draws standby service from Big Rivers and Kenergy, which is the grid exposure a reader needs to understand.
- Modernization and workforce
- In May 2023 the Kentucky Cabinet for Economic Development announced a $51 million Domtar investment in the 50-year-old Hawesville mill, retaining over 400 jobs in Hancock County. The project replaces the current pulper with a modern unit to gain machine capabilities and serve growing markets. The Kentucky Economic Development Finance Authority preliminarily approved up to $1.2 million in tax incentives under the Kentucky Reinvestment Act and up to $100,000 under the Kentucky Enterprise Initiative Act. Leaders planned to have the expansion fully operational by the end of 2025, and the fact sheet reports 478 employees as of year-end 2025.
Facility
- Activity
- Fine specialty paper and hardwood market pulp
- Industry
- Manufacturing
- Site type
- Facility
- Operating status
- Operating
Related records
Timeline
- Jan 1, 2001
- Domtar builds its 52 MW onsite cogeneration facility at the Hawesville mill
psc.ky.gov
- Apr 28, 2020
- Domtar announces temporary suspension of Hawesville mill operations starting May 5 and about 400 temporary layoffs
Domtar temporarily suspends operations at Hawesville mill in Kentucky, US
- Mar 31, 2023
- Kenergy's 21-year standby rate structure for Domtar ends; the pilot LICSS tariff applies
psc.ky.gov
- May 17, 2023