The Pennsylvania Senate approved Wednesday a resolution urging Congress to support the development of an ethane storage hub in the Appalachian region.
Senate Resolution 375 calls on Congress to advance several bills to help create the ethane storage and distribution hub.
“The construction of Shell’s new ethane facility in Beaver County is already underway, and that project is expected to create thousands of new jobs. However, that does not mean our work is finished,” Sen. Camera Bartolotta (R-46th District), who introduced the bill, said. “We should be doing everything in our power to encourage ethane companies to come here, stay here and create family-sustaining jobs. In order to fully capitalize on the opportunities that are in front of us, we need to take strategic steps to ensure the responsible and sustainable development of our energy resources.”
Projections indicate that developing the hub would create approximately 100,000 new direct and indirect jobs and generate approximately $28 billion in economic output. Pennsylvania’s chemical industry currently supports about 80,000 direct and indirect jobs and generates approximately $24 billion in economic activity and $410 million in state and local taxes.