- Haven't seen this posted
BEIJING, China (WSAZ) -- UPDATE 11/9/17 @ 5:45 p.m.
The $83.7 billion investment is an agreement with China Energy. It is a memorandum of understanding (MOU) that promises to bring that amount to West Virginia over the next 20 years.
To put the dollar amount into perspective, it would be the world's third wealthiest person, behind Jeff Bezos and Bill Gates, and is well above the combined value of every product and service produced in West Virginia last year.
"It's certainly a game changer for the state of West Virginia," said Brian Anderson, director of WVU’s Energy Institute.
As for the reason why, "it's the lowest cost of raw materials for the petrochemical sector on the planet."
It means the investment opportunity is here, helped by relationships going back several years.
Plus Anderson said the state has a workforce that can “jump right in.”
Anderson said the projects will span much of the state -- particularly the Ohio and Kanawha valleys.
Likely first on the list are natural gas power plants in Harrison and Brooke counties, as well as the Appalachia Storage Hub with possible sites in Ohio and Kentucky, as well as Putnam and Jackson County, West Virginia.
"I have extremely high hopes that we can see a large portion of this portfolio adding up to 83 billion," said Anderson.
He adds that each project on the memo has been researched and is viable now, but over the next 20 years, some may come off the list or be added depending on the economic climate.
"The chances the investment is zero is extremely, extremely low."
So while exciting, few details are known.
"Certainly a developing story,” Anderson said. “It's going to take us a long time to fully realize the potential.”
As for the job totals, Anderson said the American Chemistry Council estimated a $36 billion investment as bringing 101,000 jobs with 70,000 directly in the investment and another 30,000 to help supply it.
With $83 billion, he would expect at least double that -- though some jobs would likely be in Ohio, Kentucky and Pennsylvania too.
