The News-Gazette.com: Mattoon residents hope FutureGen will give area a lift

Mattoon residents hope FutureGen will give area a lift

By Meg Thilmony

Wednesday, December 19, 2007 11:06 AM CDT

MATTOON – A day after the announcement that their city will be home to a $1.5 billion clean coal-burning power plant, residents agree that Mattoon is about to see some dramatic changes.

"What a great day for Mattoon and for Coles County," said Angela Griffin, the president and CEO of Coles Together, which put together the proposal for FutureGen. "The eyes of the world are on us."

The hubbub started at 9:13 a.m. Tuesday, when FutureGen Alliance Chief Executive Officer Michael Mudd announced that Mattoon was selected from four finalists for the site.

By about 10:30, Gov. Rod Blagojevich addressed a jubilant crowd, telling them the plant will revitalize the coal industry while caring for the environment.

"FutureGen is the future," Blagojevich said.

And after the press conference at the Time theater, attendees moved next door to JeLeniz Martini Bar for a champagne toast and the viewing of newscasts announcing Mattoon's selection.

JeLeniz isn't usually open on Tuesdays, said owner Lena Eaton, but the FutureGen announcement marked a special occasion.

It's also the start of much change in Mattoon, Eaton said. She expects the construction of the plant to spark economic development and revitalize current businesses.

"It'll be great for downtown Mattoon," Eaton said.

The plant's construction will also be great for Mattoon's economy, said Jack Lavin, director of the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity, because the plant will create about 1,300 construction jobs and perhaps 150 permanent positions after that. It's expected to be complete by 2012, Lavin said.

Jerry Oliver, the FutureGen Alliance's senior vice president and project developer, said he hopes to be at FutureGen's site by Jan. 3. It will be about a mile northwest of Mattoon. Oliver is currently based in Houston, but both he and the plant's design will move to Mattoon. FutureGen will build an office, and Oliver expects 40 or 50 people working on the project to relocate by the end of 2008.

The logistics still have to be worked out, Oliver said, but he knows where he'd like to place the plant on the land.

He expects to buy about 430 acres; the plant itself will take up about 90 of those, Oliver said.

Lavin said he hopes much of the labor used in construction will be from East Central Illinois. And Blagojevich said the plant will revitalize the coal industry, both in Illinois and other coal-producing states.

But some Mattoon residents aren't yet sure how they feel about the announcement that FutureGen plans to come to Mattoon.

Larry Ashworth lives about half a mile from where the plant is planned and said he's not sure how his life will change.

He does know one thing: "Things are going to get hectic in this area."

He worries about moving his farm machinery. He's already rejected offers to sell his property and to let FutureGen officials onto his land for testing. He signed papers to allow carbon dioxide to be stored underneath his ground. But he's not sure what will happen if, for some reason, the gas leaks back up. He's not crazy about the idea of three years' worth of construction in his backyard, either, he said.

"It's going to be like building a city, basically," he said, because the work will include roads and infrastructure.

And the FutureGen project may run into some obstacles along the way.

After the announcement that Mattoon is the plant's future location, James Slutz of the U.S Department of Energy called for restructuring FutureGen's agreement between his agency and the FutureGen Alliance to control costs.

The Department of Energy hasn't yet issued its final "record of decision" on the Mattoon site. After it's finalized, Lavin said, Congress must allot money each year for the plant's construction. The Department of Energy is responsible for 74 percent of the plant's $1.5 billion cost.

And, Lavin said, while FutureGen has options on the land for the plant, sales haven't been finalized.

Landowner Marty Dole said he's not sure when they will be, or even how much land he must sell. The land is part of a family farm, Dale said, which made it a hard decision. But he thinks it's for the best.

"It's going to be great for the area," Dole said.

Many residents agree.

Ron and Brenda Mason operate the D&W Family Restaurant in Mattoon. Brenda Mason's father founded it in 1955, she said. Since then, there have been troubling times when the economy has slowed in Mattoon as other factories have closed.

Recently, the economy has been about as slow as ever, the Masons said.

"Our economy needs this in Mattoon," Ron Mason said.

News-Gazette correspondentAshley Rueff contributed to this report.