By Scott DiSavino and Lisa Shumaker
July 15th 2009, New York
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) took another step forward on the
coal-fueled 275-megawatt FutureGen carbon capture and sequestration power
project in Illinois, the DOE said in a release late Tuesday.
Specifically, the DOE said it issued a
National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) Record of Decision.
"This step forward demonstrates the
(Obama) Administration's commitment to developing clean energy technologies,
creating jobs and reducing emissions of greenhouse gases," Energy
Secretary Steven Chu said in the release.
The U.S. government wants to cut
greenhouse gas emissions such as carbon dioxide (CO2) that scientists have
linked to the warming of the planet. Carbon capture and Sequestration (CCS)
could allow coal, which currently provides about half the nation's electricity,
to remain an important source of power for decades.
The DOE decision allows the FutureGen
Alliance to proceed with site-specific activities for the project. During the
next eight to 10 months, DOE said the Alliance will complete a preliminary
design, refine its cost estimate, develop a funding plan, expand the
sponsorship group, and, if needed, conduct additional subsurface
characterization.
Following these activities, which will be
completed in early 2010, the DOE and the Alliance will decide whether to
continue the project through construction and operation. If the parties decide
to move forward, DOE said funding will be phased and conditioned based on
completion of necessary NEPA reviews.
The DOE anticipated contributing $1.073
billion to the project, $1 billion from Recovery Act funds for carbon capture
and sequestration research. The FutureGen Alliance's total anticipated
financial contribution is $400 million to $600 million, based on a goal of 20
members each contributing $20 million to $30 million over a four to six year
period.
FutureGen members include Anglo American,
BHP Billiton, China Huaneng Group, Consol Energy, E.ON AG's US unit, Foundation
Coal Holdings Inc, Peabody Energy Corp and Rio Tinto.
The total cost estimate of the project is
$2.4 billion, according to the DOE release.
Source: http://www.reuters.com/article/GCA-GreenBusiness/idUSTRE56E5Q720090715