A proposed $6.4 billion liquefied natural gas export terminal near Philly has quietly lined up support | Weekly Business Newsletter

A New York firm headed by a native Philadelphian is eyeing 60 acres on the Chester waterfront to build a massive liquefied natural gas plant. Chester Mayor Thaddeus Kirkland said his financially stressed city would welcome the tax revenue and job opportunities from a big industrial development, but some community activists are concerned. They worry the development would jeopardize safety and commit the nation to more harmful gas production from hydraulic fracturing when it should be moving away from fossil fuel consumption.

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Penn LNG, which is affiliated with a company called Penn America Energy, has been quietly lining up support for a $6.4 billion liquefied natural gas export terminal in Chester City or another waterfront location near Philadelphia, capitalizing on the abundance of Pennsylvania shale gas and soaring worldwide demand for LNG after Russian’s invasion of Ukraine. Chester Mayor Thaddeus Kirkland said the development “would probably put us in a great financial position for decades to come,” but community activists said they were unaware of the discussions.

“We will be vehemently opposed to this LNG plant,” said Zulene Mayfield, founder of Chester Residents Concerned for Quality Living, an environmental justice group that opposed the relicensing of a Chester waste-to-energy incinerator. “An LNG plant is the last thing our community needs.”

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