Doug Jackson, 202.495.3045 or doug.jackson@sierraclub.org
BELMONT COUNTY, OH -- Today, Daelim Chemical USA LLC announced they will not move forward with their proposed PTT Global Chemical ethane cracker project. While PPTGC says they will attempt to find another investor, Daelim’s finances represented the overwhelming majority of the $10 billion behind the project, leaving its future in doubt. Ohio has pledged as much as $70 million from taxpayers in direct grants and loans to incentivize the project, some of which may already be spent and unrecoverable.
The project’s future has been increasingly uncertain, with doubts rising even before last week’s cancellation of the Atlantic Coast Pipeline roiled the gas and fracking industries.
In response, Sierra Club Beyond Dirty Fuels Campaign Representative Shelly Corbin released the following statement:
"This dirty, dangerous cracker plant would threaten the health of our air, water, climate, and communities and lead to more fracking here in Ohio. With the bottom falling out of the fracked gas industry right now, the PTTGC project is clearly a bad investment. Daelim is smart to pull their money out, and the taxpayers of Ohio should demand their representatives do the same.”
Bev Reed and Vincent DeGeorge with Concerned Ohio River Residents said:
"This withdrawal from Daelim is more evidence, added to the growing pile, from the market that the project will never happen. The Ohio Valley deserves better than a string of empty promises. It's time to face facts: cheap fossil fuel commodities are never going to be the road to prosperity. Now is the time for local and state leaders and residents to come together to utilize the abundant resources here and create the future that we want and deserve."
Teresa Mills, Executive Director, Buckeye Environmental Network, said:
“While PTTGC is still holding this community captive, it’s clear now more than ever that the state needs to move forward beyond antique energy. We should not be throwing more money at a dying industry.”
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The Sierra Club is America’s largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization, with more than 3.5 million members and supporters. In addition to protecting every person's right to get outdoors and access the healing power of nature, the Sierra Club works to promote clean energy, safeguard the health of our communities, protect wildlife, and preserve our remaining wild places through grassroots activism, public education, lobbying, and legal action. For more information, visit www.sierraclub.org.