Frequent Questions

FG has received the permits needed to begin construction of The Sunshine Project, and site preparation is underway for the estimated $9.4 billion industrial complex to be located in St. James Parish, Louisiana. The Sunshine Project will be located near the Sunshine Bridge and will be constructed in an area designated for industrial use in District 5. It will be designed with a buffer of approximately 300 feet around the units within our facility.

The Sunshine Project will be constructed in two phases. Once completed, the complex will produce polyethylene, polypropylene, polymer and ethylene glycol that are used to make everyday products including car casings, drainage pipes, artificial turf, polyester clothing, antifreeze and playground equipment. The proposed project will have a significant economic impact at the state and local level. The Sunshine Project would create 1,200 new direct jobs with an average salary of $84,500 plus benefits.

Once constructed, the project will be one of the most innovative, single-site ethylene production complexes in the world and will make the plastic building blocks found in everyday products that help make our lives safer, healthier, cleaner and more efficient.  The products that FG will produce will be used to make everyday items including car casings, drainage pipes, artificial turf, antifreeze, polyester clothing and playground equipment. FG’s products also help make life-saving PPE (personal protective equipment), including N95 and surgical masks needed in the fight against COVID-19.

Now that permits have been received, the construction phase has begun with planned preconstruction activities, such as soil testing and utility relocations. FG will provide more information about the project schedule and timeline as activities progress. Please visit the construction page for additional information.

Yes. PHASE ONE would consist of one ethylene plant, associated polymer plants, ethylene glycol plant, one propylene plant and associated polymer plant and ancillary support facilities for product loading and utilities, including electricity and wastewater treatment. PHASE TWO would consist of an additional ethylene plant, associated polymer plants and ethylene glycol plant.

FG remains committed to The Sunshine Project and is progressing with planned activities at the site. Activities will continue throughout the second half of 2020, including widening Highway 3127 expansion, utility relocations, soil testing, placement of test piles and a pipeline removal. Major construction will proceed dependent on several factors, including construction costs, oil prices and other impacts resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic. 

FG is committed to protecting the health and safety of our employees and the community as well as the environment. The Sunshine Project will be constructed and operated to meet all state and federal standards, which were established in order to protect the community and the environment. After permits are issued, monitoring, recordkeeping and reporting assure that emissions meet U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality requirements.

FG has received the permits needed to begin construction of The Sunshine Project, and site preparation is underway. Several federal and state permits were required from agencies including the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the Louisiana Department of Natural Resources and the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality. 

The Sunshine Project is located in an area designated for industrial use, close to the Mosaic and American Styrenics facilities. It is more than one mile from the property boundaries to the Fifth Ward Elementary School. Operational units within the facility will be approximately 300 feet from the property boundary, and trees will be planted along parts of this buffer zone. There will be an even greater setback from Highway 18. 

Noise generated by our proposed facility is expected to be comparable to existing conditions. A field study was conducted using a number of established criteria with readings taken at the fence line, one-half mile away and one mile away. The study found that the location of an industrial facility will not appreciably alter the ambient noise in the area.

Generally, noises and sounds will be from vehicular traffic, the operation of generators and other machines and the placement of equipment. FG will make every effort to avoid or minimize work at night.

Off property odor conditions are not expected from the facility. Ethylene, propylene, ethylene glycol and polymer production units like those proposed for The Sunshine Project are not inherently odorous processes and emissions are well controlled.

FG is committed to protecting the health and safety of our employees and the community as well as the environment. The Sunshine Project will be constructed and operated to meet all state and federal standards, which were established to protect the community and the environment. Emissions have been, and will be, minimized in several ways: 

1. FG will comply with multiple laws, regulations, and permits 
2. FG will use process technology that captures and reuses process materials to minimize emissions 
3. FG will use the Best Available Control Technology (BACT) and/or the Maximum Achievable Control Technology (MACT) to reduce emissions to the maximum extent possible.

FG will also perform a variety of emission testing and monitoring activities. Required testing and monitoring will be performed on a routine or continuous basis to demonstrate continued compliance with permit requirements. Records of these tests and reports must be submitted to the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality and maintained on-site so that LDEQ may review them at any time. 

Additionally, photochemical modeling demonstrates that the proposed facility will not impact the ozone attainment status of St. James Parish.

Emissions will be accounted for by multiple forms of monitoring, depending on the pollutant and emission source. These forms of monitoring include continuous monitoring where instrumentation is available, routine monitoring, monitoring by process information from which emissions are calculated and fenceline monitoring.

Flare systems are important safety devices used to keep a facility running safely during unplanned operational interruptions or during scheduled maintenance activities and routine process vents. During these periods, gases are routed to a flare to minimize emissions into the air. Flaring is considered to be a safe, environmentally acceptable way to dispose of hydrocarbons.

Ground flares are smokeless, reducing community and environmental impacts. FG will use ground flares to minimize light and noise from flaring as much as possible. As opposed to an elevated flare, which is often a hundred or more feet tall with a single flare tip at the top, a ground flare has multiple flare tips that are only a few feet above ground, surrounded by a barrier. Typically ground flares are a height of 8-10 feet with a barrier of 50 to 60 feet. 

The wastewater discharge will be directed to the Mississippi River. Storm water will continue to be discharged to the St. James Canal, just as it is today. There are no public water supply intakes located within 50 miles downstream of the point of discharge.

In addition, the discharge of industrial wastewater will meet Louisiana Surface Water Quality Standards and will not impact the designated uses of the Mississippi River. Water treatment systems will be designed and operated to meet all regulations and protect wildlife and the environment. 

Residents expressed a need to widen Hwy. 3127 to alleviate traffic congestion, and FG recently unveiled a project to do just that. FG is voluntarily financing the expansion of Hwy 3127 into four lanes for the length of the project site and the addition of two turning lanes into the facility. This multi-million dollar project will enhance road infrastructure in the community and help minimize traffic impacts during construction and operations.

FG is listening to community concerns regarding evacuation. FG is committed to being part of the financial solution for a new evacuation route linking Hwy 18 and Hwy 3127 and will be a participant in the solution that is ultimately identified by the parish. 

Project engineers will use a system of ponds and basins to ensure flow rates from the site are lower than they are today. The storm water runoff from The Sunshine Project will be detained onsite in ponds designed to release water at a rate lower than it is now.

Formosa has a long investment history globally including the USA, Taiwan, China, Vietnam, Philippines and Indonesia.  

FG is committed to investing in and addressing real needs in the community through projects and initiatives developed with input from the people who live and work in the community. FG is also committed to being part of the financial solution for a new evacuation route linking Hwy 18 and Hwy 3127 and will be a participant in the solution that is ultimately identified by the parish.

We welcome the opportunity to work with the community to help build a better St. James. FG is committed to listening to community concerns and keeping the community informed and updated as the project progresses. 

FG is already engaging with the community:

• We’ve established a “Think Local” policy that focuses on hiring local people and businesses when possible.
• We are financing and moving forward on the widening of Hwy 3127 in front of our proposed facility to address traffic issues.
• We’ve invested in the District 5 education system by funding a STEAM grant that will impact approximately 750 students on the west bank. The grant will help support educational field trips for all St. Louis Academy students, provide dancing supplies for every interested student at St. Louis Academy and support in-service programs for teachers. 

We will use The Sunshine Project website to provide project updates and to collect and manage project inquiries.

The Sunshine Project would create 1,200 new direct jobs with an average salary of $84,500 plus benefits. We are committed to hiring qualified local residents for these jobs as well as engaging qualified local businesses and vendors to work on the project.  During the construction phase of the project, FG will continue to work with Louisiana Economic Development and other area entities to hire locally. As the project progresses, we will post information about job and business opportunities on our website.

FG is committed to hiring locally. We have established a “Think Local” policy that focuses on hiring local people, businesses and vendors, and we will work with our prime contractor to ensure local hiring is a top priority. 

FG is working closely with local officials and the community to make residents aware of the types of jobs that will be available and the necessary training and skills required for The Sunshine Project. We are committed to working with local workforce development officials, the River Parishes Community College and the Baton Rouge Community College to provide local residents with opportunities to acquire the education, skills and training to be in a position to compete for jobs.

The construction phase is expected to occur between 2019-2020. At peak construction, there will be more than 8,000 workers. This phase will generate 4,454 net new jobs for the state with 3,474 per year of those in St. James Parish. In addition, about $265 million in taxes will be generated for state and local governments with nearly $205 million being collected in the St. James area (which includes Ascension, Assumption, Lafourche, St. James and St. John the Baptist parishes).

The Sunshine Project will provide significant economic benefits to the state and the area. We are committed to hiring locally. The total capital investment will be approximately $9.4 billion. When both phases of construction are completed, the project is expected to create 1,200 new direct jobs with an average salary of $84,500 plus benefits.