The FutureGen Alliance announced Monday that it has selected Morgan County to sequester carbon dioxide emissions that would come from a coal-fired power plant 32 miles from the site.
The long-stalled $1.3 billion project, which includes CO2 storage, a visitor center, research and training facilities, is backed by $1 billion in federal funding from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act and $300 million in private investment. Approximately 30 communities competed in the site selection process in the second try to get the project off the ground.
The future of the project hinges, in part, on Ameren Energy Resources scoring an agreement with the Illinois Power Agency to buy the power its plant Meredosia would produce. The company wants a 30-year contract to guarantee the power it produces will have a buyer, a path other clean coal projects have followed in recent legislative sessions. Under Illinois law, 5 percent of the state’s electricity must come from “clean coal” facilities that capture at least 50 percent of their greenhouse gas emissions by the year 2025.
Marcelyn Love, a spokesperson for the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity, said the IPA and Ameren have had some “initial discussions” about a potential long-term contract. That contract would need to be approved by the Illinois Commerce Commission.
Sue Gallagher, a spokeswoman with Ameren, said the company is still determining if the project is technically and commercially sound.
An oil-fired burner at the plant — ranked by the Institute for Southern Studies in 2006 as one of top 100 polluting U.S. electric facilities — would be repowered with an oxy-combustion coal burner, and approximately 1.3 million tons of carbon dioxide emissions each year would be piped underground. According to Ameren, FutureGen would be the first large-scale project of its kind in the U.S.
Kenneth Humphreys, CEO of the FutureGen Alliance, said the project is expected to bring more than 1,000 construction jobs and 1,000 service sector jobs.
Originally, the FutureGen project called for a zero-emission power plant to be built in Mattoon; its carbon dioxide stored underground. Mattoon backed out last year after the project was significantly revised.
