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FutureGen
PI Original
by Michael Piskur
3:36pm
Fri Dec 9, 2011

FutureGen 2.0 Moving Forward, But Outlook Remains Uncertain

Environment

The uncertainty and the costs continue to grow for FutureGen 2.0, the increasingly expensive carbon capture project in Meredosia.

Quick Hit
by Adam Doster
3:46pm
Wed Aug 11, 2010

Mattoon Rejects FutureGen 2.0

Even the folks who might have benefited economically from the FutureGen plant -- residents of Mattoon -- want out of a new deal proposed for the site by the U.S. Department of Energy. After the government decided only to use the site as an underground storage unit for carbon, thereby scrapping plans to build the nation's first commercial-scale coal plant equipped with carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) technology, town leaders have decided to drop out of the project altogether.

This could serve as a death-blow to FutureGen 2.0, a plan Will Reynolds equated with "someone in the 1920's researching the most advance horse and buggy technology to compete with the new-fangled automobile." Unfortunately, the state legislature can't take back the cash it spent lobbying for the experimental project and eventually supporting (PDF) its early development. It can, however, spend our money on wise energy investments moving forward.

Quick Hit
by Adam Doster
3:49pm
Thu Aug 5, 2010

DC Bails On FutureGen

After years of planning and anticipation (not too mention the acquisition of serious taxpayer subsidies), backers of the Matoon-based FutureGen power plant have lost the support of the U.S. Department of Energy. FutureGen was supposed to be the nation's first commercial-scale coal plant equipped with carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) technology. Now, according to officials in DC, the site will just be used as underground storage for carbon from other plants.

FutureGen's obituary, as it turns out, might have been written by the U.S. Senate. Plants fitted with CCS technology can't compete in a world where there is no price on carbon. And with Republicans poised to gain more seats in Washington this fall, that's not going to happen anytime soon.

PI Original
by Adam Doster
12:02pm
Thu Feb 4, 2010
7 comments

The Future Of FutureGen

Energy

With all the publicity it has generated over the years, it almost seems impossible that officials in Washington still have not approved the "clean coal" plant known as FutureGen. This month, however, the waiting games ends. We check in with some environmental advocates to get their thoughts on the potential project.

PI Original
by Adam Doster
2:10pm
Fri Nov 14, 2008
7 comments

Coal Plants Put On Hold

State Legislature

The coal industry was fired up, so to speak, by Barack Obama's election on November 4. Hailing from a coal-producing state and on record as a supporter of developing "clean coal" technology, insiders think he could revive the industry by pushing for two coal-...