Senator Dick Durbin Applauds Decision To Locate FutureGen Project In Illinois

December 18, 2007 -- WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Dick Durbin today applauded the decision by the FutureGen Alliance to locate the $1.5 billion emissions-free coal generation plant in downstate Illinois. The decision was announced this morning at a ceremony at the National Press Club.

“The FutureGen Alliance has made a wise choice in selecting Mattoon, Illinois as the site for this project. Downstate Illinois has the coal, the geology and the commitment needed to make this project a success,” said Durbin. “The success today is a tribute to the community, the state and all those who worked so hard to secure the FutureGen project for Illinois.”

FutureGen will be a $1.5 billion government-industry project which will produce the first emissions-free coal generation plant of its kind. It is a demonstration for gasifying coal (converting it to hydrogen and carbon monoxide), producing hydrogen and electricity, capturing carbon dioxide, and sequestering it underground. The plant would generate approximately 275 MW of electricity, which is enough to supply 150,000 homes. Facility construction would begin in 2010, with full-scale operation beginning in 2013. The project is a joint venture between DOE and the FutureGen Alliance, a non-profit consortium of coal producers and energy generators.

Illinois has 38 billion tons of recoverable bituminous coal reserves, the largest in the nation. The valuable mineral underlies 65 percent of the state’s surface. Illinois has an abundant and reliable supply of water and are geologically suited for the carbon-trapping technology that the FutureGen project would need to develop. Illinois is home to oil and gas reserves and deep saline aquifers that can capture and sequester carbon dioxide.

In addition, Southern Illinois University operates its Coal Research Center in Carbondale- one of the top such centers in the country - which conducts a wide range of studies that deal with the commercial development of coal.

The FutureGen Initiative was initially announced by President Bush in February 2003. In early December of 2005, the Department of Energy signed an agreement with the FutureGen Alliance. Over the last year, site selection, design activities, and environmental analyses has laid the groundwork for final project design, construction, and operation. “Best and final offers” from the four sites were submitted on August 1, 2007.

Source: Senator Dick Durbin

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