Alliance sweetens FutureGen pot

MATTOON – A consortium of some of the largest coal producers and users in the world on Friday offered to pay a greater portion of the cost of the $1.8 billion FutureGen clean coal plant.

If the proposal is accepted by the Department of Energy, which previously was responsible for 74 percent of the costs, plans to build FutureGen in Coles County may proceed without future delays, according to a statement from U.S. Rep. Tim Johnson, R-Urbana.

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