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Illinois gets FutureGen plant

By Adam Testa, The Southern

Tuesday, December 18, 2007 10:59 PM CST

Residents of Mattoon haven't been treated to a movie in the historic Time Theater in more than a decade, but residents and Illinois officials viewed a history-making show Tuesday.

A group of citizens joined state, community and university officials from downstate Illinois to watch as the FutureGen Alliance named the central Illinois city, located 30 miles south of Champaign, as the home of the FutureGen power plant.

President George W. Bush announced the nearly $2 billion project to create a near-zero emissions, coal-burning power plant during his 2003 State of the Union address. Several Illinois cities entered the competition, but only Mattoon and neighboring Tuscola to the north were left in the final four along with two sites in Bush's home state of Texas.

While many Southern Illinois officials wanted the plant to come to their region, the geology of the area almost immediately eliminated the possibility, said John Mead, director of the Coal Research Center at Southern Illinois University Carbondale.

"We'd like to have it at home, but it's still going to be good for us in Mattoon," said state Sen. Gary Forby, D-Benton.

In the years since the announcement of the project, officials on the state and federal levels have worked to pursue the project, even if it would not be located in their home districts. U.S. Rep. Jerry Costello, D-Ill., has worked on bringing the plant to Illinois since day one.

"It's a good feeling when you put the time, effort and work into a project and see it come through," Costello said. The construction phase of the project will create about 1,300 jobs, which Costello believes will consist of people from throughout central and Southern Illinois.

Representatives of Southern Illinois racked up miles on their vehicles as they traveled to Mattoon and back Tuesday. Forby had put more than 250 miles on his car by a 3 p.m. press conference at SIUC. Mead and SIU President Glenn Poshard also traveled to central Illinois to celebrate with others who had worked to bring the project here.

With the plant sequestering carbon dioxide underground rather than releasing emissions into the environment, Southern Illinois officials remain hopeful for a rebirth of a coal industry decimated by the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990.

Steve Carter, owner of Knight Hawk Coal in Ava, said the research potential made possible by the plant may be of more value than increased coal sales. Carter doesn't believe the plant will be a huge buyer and said there are no guarantees it will even purchase Southern Illinois coal.

However, the commercial-scale project will show the world what can be accomplished with new technologies and an ability to convert coal to electricity in a more environmentally friendly manner, Carter said.

Mike Mudd, CEO of the FutureGen Alliance, said Mattoon proved to be superior to the three other sites because of availability of water, land acquisition and the geology of the location. The land where the plant will be built can immediately be turned over to the Alliance, which Mudd said was a key characteristic of the site.

State Sen. David Luechtefeld, R-Okawville, said state officials thought Illinois would prosper if the decision remained based on science and not politics, as the Alliance claimed it would.

"We always thought we had the best in what they were looking for," he said. "But until you finally find out, you just never know."

adam.testa@thesouthern.com

351-5031