Proposed West Keating Petrochemical Plant Looks to Be Getting a Reprieve
HARRISBURG – New legislation is moving through the state Legislature which could be the springboard for a $477 million natural gas synthesis plant proposed for Clinton County’s West Keating Township.
The state Senate on Monday, by a vote of 40-9, approved a petrochemical tax break bill and sent it on to the state House. A similar measure had been vetoed by Gov. Tom Wolf in March of this year, but his office has offered assurances that he will approve the revised measure. State Senate Majority Whip Jake Corman said during floor debate Monday that the governor would sign the bill.
The tax credits would take effect in 2020 and offer 25 years of credits up to more than $26 million a year, divided among no more than four facilities with a maximum tax credit of something over $6.6 million. Among the prospective beneficiaries would be the natural gas synthesis plant proposed for West Keating Township, a story first broken by therecord-online earlier this year.
Details on the project were announced in therecord-online in February following a meeting between developers and West Keating Township officials. Those same developers had met in Snow Shoe late last year to share preliminary details with officials from Clinton, Cameron, Clearfield and Centre counties.
Company representatives in February had provided therecord-online with these details:
A natural gas synthesis plant uses the methane in natural gas as a feedstock to produce a range of products used in agriculture, industry, medicines and transportation. A synthesis plant is not a ‘cracker plant’. The majority of CO2 generated in gas synthesis processes is captured and used in the making of other products. More than a dozen similar plants have been built across the US in the last 15 years.
The project cost would be in the range of $500,000,000, could generate 600 to 800 jobs during construction and 150 to 200 permanent jobs.
The economic development impact would be profound and generational. Commercial and other activity generated will go beyond Clinton County, impacting areas of Cameron, Centre and Clearfield; local rail siding and road upgrades, housing for the construction workforce proposed to be converted to permanent affordable housing, coordination of workforce development programs with the surrounding county high schools, vo-tech schools as well as Lock Haven University, Penn College and Penn State University, substantial research activities with the surrounding universities and major wildlife habitat enhancement in reclaimed mining and other areas funded.
Dozens of local, county, state and federal elected and public officials have been engaged and have given critical guidance and support to the project concept.
An undertaking of this type and scope is immensely complex and time consuming.
The first of a series public announcements and information sessions will likely be made beginning the summer and fall of 2020.
