The latest news on FutureGen

Last month, the Department of Energy announced that it will likely select the revised FutureGen clean coal projects by the end of the year — underscoring the federal government's commitment to making clean coal a part of our energy future.

According to the Department of Energy, the projects will concentrate on the carbon capture and sequestration component of multiple commercial power plants across the United States.

DOE is initially offering $290 million to fund the 50-50 cost share of the carbon capture and sequestration components of the projects, to be followed by $1.1 billion that would be available in subsequent years if approved by Congress.

We still believe that the government should honor its initial commitment to build a FutureGen demonstration plant in Mattoon, Ill. That is... the Mattoon project should not have been scrapped to pursue other projects. If we're serious about meeting CO2 reduction goals, we should be doing MORE, not LESS.

People in Illinois think so too - just this week, a state board pledged $2 million to move FutureGen forward and the FutureGen Alliance will match the grants and spend another $6 million toward the effort.

Remember, for each month the project delayed, the cost goes up by about $10 million because of inflation. So it's in everyone's interest to get the political part of this squared away soon!

Comments

[Pro Nuke]

If carbon capture and sequestration is so safe underground then why don't we store our nuclear waste that way? I feel it is an excellent way to multiply the impact of earthquakes, by adding the CO2 smothering effect of escaping gas that can not be isolated killing all people in low areas. CO2 is over-hyped, junk science global warming, sky is falling , B.S. Stop playing around and build more nuclear power plants.

[Mike Johnston]

I think that the FutureGen system will provide the framework for large scale hydrogen fired energy plants to come into existence.

Once we find a better way to produce hydrogen from water we will no longer need the coal and the plant to use that hydrogen fuel will already exist.