DOE - Fossil Energy Techline - Issued on:  May 9, 2006

Twelve Sites Proposed for FutureGen Plant


Site Evaluations Begin for World's Cleanest Coal Plant

Washington, DC - Twelve sites in seven states were named today as candidates to host the $1 billion FutureGen power plant, a revolutionary public-private venture that could usher in a new era of nearly pollution-free energy from coal.
 
Secretary of Energy Samuel Bodman announced that the proposals for the candidate sites had been received by the FutureGen Alliance, which oversees the site selection process. The announcement was made at a conference on ways to capture and store carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases. Trapping and permanently storing carbon gases deep underground will be a key feature of the FutureGen plant, along with other cutting-edge techniques that could virtually eliminate air emissions from the plant.
 
"FutureGen will be a stepping stone toward a cleaner, more energy-secure future.  We are extremely pleased that we have twelve quality locations now in the running.  One of these sites ultimately will become known worldwide as the place where a new generation of zero-emission energy plants made its debut," Secretary Bodman said.
 
The proposals are to host the project in or near:

  • Effingham, Illinois
  • Marshall, Illinois
  • Mattoon, Illinois
  • Tuscola, Illinois
  • Henderson County, Kentucky
  • Bowman County, North Dakota
  • Meigs County, Ohio
  • Tuscarawas County, Ohio
  • Odessa,Texas
  • Jewett, Texas
  • Point Pleasant, West Virginia
  • Gillette, Wyoming

The 12 sites were submitted in response to a public Request for Proposals issued by the Alliance, a group of coal companies and electric utilities partnering with the U.S. Department of Energy to design and build the plant.  
 
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Mike Mudd, the Alliance's Chief Executive Officer, said "The level of and number of proposals indicates the growing recognition of the important role that technologies using abundant, low-cost coal will play in securing our energy future with affordable electricity and minimal environmental impacts."
 
The FutureGen Alliance plans to deliver a list of finalist sites to the Energy Department this summer following a rigorous evaluation based on criteria developed jointly by the Alliance and DOE. The Department will review the candidate sites in accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act.  The Alliance's selection of a final site is scheduled for the fall of 2007. Plant start-up is planned for 2012.
 
Secretary Bodman speaking at the Carbon Sequestration conference in Washington, DC


Secretary of Energy Samuel Bodman announcing
the 12 proposed FutureGen sites at the 5th Annual
Conference on Carbon Capture and Sequestration
in Alexandria, Virginia.
Although the project is still in its early stages, preliminary estimates suggest that a workforce of as many as 1,300 could be employed at peak construction with a total construction pay of approximately $250 million.  A permanent workforce of 150 could be required when the plant begins operations.
 
The FutureGen project was announced by President Bush in February 2003 as the prototype for plants that can produce both electricity and hydrogen from coal.  It would incorporate the emerging technology of "integrated gasification combined cycle" – an alternative to traditional coal combustion – to generate 275 megawatts of electricity, enough for about 150,000 homes.  The hydrogen it produces would be used in power-generating turbines or fuel cells, or potentially in the future as a clean fuel for a new generation of automobiles and trucks.
 
A unique feature of FutureGen will be the first-ever integration of a suite of highly-advanced technologies that either capture or prevent the formation of pollutants and other waste products that have created environmental concerns about the use of coal.  Air pollutants will be reduced almost to zero, solid wastes will be converted to useful commercial products, and as much as 90 percent of the total carbon dioxide produced by the plant is expected to be captured initially.  The plant will also serve as the proving ground for even more advanced technologies, including devices that may eventually capture up to 100 percent of carbon dioxide emissions.
 
One of the key characteristics of the FutureGen site will be its suitability for safely storing carbon dioxide permanently deep underground in a way that can be applied at other sites in the U.S. and abroad.
 
The FutureGen Alliance is a non-profit organization representing some of the world’s largest coal companies and electric utilities including:  American Electric Power; Anglo American, BHP Billiton; the China Huaneng Group; CONSOL Energy Inc., Foundation Coal; Rio Tinto Energy America; Peabody Energy and Southern Company.

For more information, contact:

  • U.S. Department of Energy: John Grasser, FE Office of Communications, 202-586-6503
  • FutureGen Industrial Alliance: Frederick Palmer, Senior Vice President, Government Relations, Peabody Energy, 314-342-7624