The Empire Diversified pyrolysis facility proposed for construction in Follansbee, West Virginia would likely bring very few jobs and is estimated to generate little additional revenue for local and state budgets, according to a new report from the Ohio River Valley Institute.
Analysis conducted using IMPLAN, a common economic modeling tool, suggests the project and associated downstream economic activity could support 38 direct jobs and fewer than 63 total jobs. Based on available information, the project is estimated to add less than $28,000 in county-wide tax revenue.
“IMPLAN modeling suggests that the pyrolysis project could generate a one-time increase in jobs that would be equivalent to just over one percent of the existing jobs in Brooke County, and could increase total tax revenue by less than 0.2% of the county’s 2024 reported budget,” author and economist Nick Messenger explains. “As with any local development project, city and county decision makers generally want to consider the projected economic impact when weighing the costs and benefits to residents. State officials also want to consider that this may not all be net-new economic activity – some workers may just relocate for the new job opportunities within the state, and the tax revenue impact then could be mostly a wash for West Virginia.”
In Ohio and Indiana, similarly sized pyrolysis facilities have struggled to become financially viable or filed for bankruptcy. Though pyrolysis technologies may vary, the Empire Diversified project is likely at least partly dependent on the same plastics market forces and uncertainty around feedstock access and product demand.
Peer-reviewed research suggests that the facility’s pyrolysis operations may also generate externalized costs to the public, such as fugitive emissions of hazardous volatile organic compounds.
Empire Diversified Energy has publicly stated that this facility’s pyrolysis operations will occur without oxygen and will be “virtually emissions free.” The company has submitted an air quality permit application to the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection.