FutureGen Power Plant

By Kate Clements, The News-Gazette, Champaign-Urbana, Ill.

May 10--SPRINGFIELD -- One-third of the potential sites for a $1 billion "coal plant of the future" are in Illinois, according to a U.S. Department of Energy announcement on Tuesday.

"FutureGen will be a stepping stone toward a cleaner, more energy-secure future," said a written statement from U.S. Secretary of Energy Samuel Bodman. "We are extremely pleased that we have 12 quality locations now in the running. One of these sites ultimately will become known worldwide as the place where a new generation of zero-emission energy plants made its debut."

The FutureGen Industrial Alliance, a group of private companies working with the federal government, had initially expected about two dozen bids, but 12 were submitted from seven states.

The smaller number could improve Illinois' chances of landing the project, which is expected to generate as many as 1,300 construction jobs with a combined pay of $250 million. Another 150 permanent jobs would be available once the plant operations begin.

"Gov. Blagojevich certainly thinks that this is a really positive sign, and ... we believe that Illinois has everything that this $1 billion project needs to succeed," said Andrew Ross, spokesman for the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity.

The Illinois sites are in Tuscola, Mattoon, Effingham and Marshall. The other proposed sites are in: Henderson County, Ky.; Bowman County, N.D.; Meigs County and Tuscarawas County, Ohio; Odessa and Jewett, Texas; Point Pleasant, W.Va.; and Gillette, Wyo.

The FutureGen plant is supposed to be the world's cleanest power plant, with near-zero emissions. The prototype plant would convert coal into a gas that can be turned into enough electricity to power 150,000 average U.S. homes. It will also produce a hydrogen gas that can be used in refineries or fuel cells.

Carbon dioxide, the unwanted byproduct of this process, would be permanently stored in geologic formations deep underground, a process known as "sequestration."

Ross said Illinois is an ideal location because it has the right geology, abundant coal reserves, and solid support from the Illinois Congressional delegation, state and local officials, and even the state of Indiana.

"The governor believes that for coal to be king it has to be clean, and that's why bringing the world's cleanest coal plant to Illinois is so important," Ross said. "We've been working on helping to bring FutureGen to Illinois for three years, and everyone involved in this coordinated campaign is going to continue to do what we can."

The FutureGen Alliance expects to narrow the 12 sites to a small group of finalists this summer, with a final decision to come in fall 2007. The plan is to have the FutureGen plant ready to start operating by 2012.

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