Billion-dollar Mitsubishi chemical plant economically questionable, energy group says

NEW ORLEANS — A $1.3 billion chemical production facility to be built in Louisiana by Japanese conglomerate Mitsubishi is economically questionable and unnecessarily increases greenhouse gas emissions, according to an energy think tank report released Monday. Mitsubishi Chemical Group would be capable of annually producing 350,000 tons of methyl methacrylate, or MMA, a chemical component found in cement, adhesives, textiles and plastics. Mitsubishi stated in 2022 that its proposed facility in Louisiana “achieves the lowest possible carbon footprint for MMA production.” The proposed facility’s natural gas-based production process is also intended to help the industry shift away from the dominant method of cyanide-based production. “And you’re not supposed to do that with subsidies, you’re supposed to go forward with them.” The Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality stated in a February public notice that the Mitsubishi plant is not expected to have “a significant adverse impact on soil, vegetation, visibility or air quality in the area of the facility.” Environmental groups point out that the hundreds of tons of pollutants the facility would emit are linked to harmful health impacts, including respiratory infection, lung cancer and strokes.