Washington methanol plant canceled

Northwest Innovation Works has shelved plans to build a methanol complex in Kalama, Washington, after the state’s Department of Ecology denied permits for the massive facility. NW Innovation planned to spend about $2 billion to build 3.6 million metric tons per year of methanol capacity. The output would have been shipped to China for use as a chemical feedstock. The company, which proposed the project in 2014, had been considering other facilities in the region as well. The Port of Kalama says Gov. Jay Inslee had initially supported the project but “turned on us when he ran for president.”