All four towns eventually could get FutureGen plants, CEO says
TUSCOLA – The chief executive officer of the FutureGen Alliance says all four finalists for his organization's project could be in line to get a clean-coal gasification plant if they pass environmental tests.
"FutureGen must not be an end to itself," FutureGen Alliance CEO Mike Mudd said during a tour Friday afternoon of a proposed site in rural Tuscola. "It must be a pathway that shows that coal will remain a viable energy option for our children and grandchildren."
Earlier in the day, Mudd toured another proposed site in Mattoon.
FutureGen is a joint initiative of the U.S. Department of Energy and a nonprofit consortium of private companies that use or produce coal. Tuscola and Mattoon are competing against Odessa, Texas, and Jewett, Texas, to get a $1 billion facility.
"All four of these locations are wonderful sites," Mudd said. "Every one of them would be a wonderful site for a clean-coal gasification power plant."
Mudd said he was impressed by the enthusiasm Tuscola residents have shown for FutureGen.
"Everywhere I went today, I saw a sign promoting FutureGen," Mudd said. "Then I stopped for lunch at Flesor's Candy Kitchen, and my waitress was wearing a FutureGen button. I can definitely see that the community is rallying behind this project."
Brian Moody, executive director for Tuscola Economic Development Inc., said Mudd also told him Tuscola and Mattoon could be in line for power plants that use FutureGen technology.
"It makes us feel confident we can continue to proceed forward, knowing that all our work is not for naught," Moody said. "Given all the work and research we have done, these plants are going to be built."
Mudd said his team of researchers will collect more data on all four finalists to determine if any or all of them meet the standards of the National Environmental Policy Act. By next July, the Department of Energy will find out if one, two, three or all four sites are environmentally acceptable.
"Then we will complete negotiations with the remaining communities and announce a selection by fall of 2007," Mudd said.
Most power plants release carbon dioxide into the atmosphere as carbon fuels are burned, but FutureGen will use new technology to convert coal into a gas to produce electricity.
Instead of emitting carbon dioxide into the air, the gas will be piped a mile underground to an ancient saltwater sea contained by sandstone. The gas will dissolve in the water over 100 years.
The FutureGen Alliance wants to build the world's cleanest power plant with near-zero emissions to produce enough electricity to power 150,000 homes. In addition, the plant is expected to produce hydrogen gas that could be used in refineries or clean-burning fuel cells.
The facility is expected to produce more than 1,000 construction jobs and 150 permanent plant jobs by 2012.
Tuscola's site is on farmland west of the city. The land, owned by the Pflum and Tunks families, is near the Equistar and Cabot chemical production plants.
The Mattoon site, a half-mile west of town on Illinois 121, is 250 acres.
