The company behind a $1.3 billion petrochemical plant planned for Ascension Parish has chosen not to follow through with the project, citing a drop in demand for the products it would make.
The decision from Japanese conglomerate Mitsubishi comes after an independent report last summer determined the facility was not economically feasible and would result in the unnecessary release of greenhouse gases.
The new methyl methacrylate (MMA) monomer plant in Geismar would have made materials used in products ranging from automobile headlights to aquariums. Plans called for 125 employees, according to Mitsubishi. When the project was announced in December 2020, Louisiana Economic Development predicted it would create another 669 indirect jobs.
In a statement to investors Monday, Mitsubishi said it will be able to meet demand for MMA products from its plant in Tennessee and other locations.
The Institute of Energy Economics and Financial Analysis, an Ohio-based nonprofit that conducts industry analysis, described the Mitsubishi Geismar facility as “the wrong project, at the wrong place and time, with the wrong financial scenario” in its report released in July. It cited Environmental Protection Agency data, saying the plant would have been among the top 50 greenhouse gas polluters in Louisiana,
The IEEFA report said the Geismar site would have released 780,000 tons of carbon dioxide annually, despite having access to technologies that would produce fewer emissions.
The project also drew criticism from environmentalists who said it would add to existing health issues for communities along the “Cancer Alley” corridor of petrochemical facilities stretching along the Mississippi River.
In February, the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality report said the Mitsubishi plant was not expected to have “a significant adverse impact on soil, vegetation, visibility or air quality in the area of the facility.”
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