Since yesterday's Republican presidential plant spent a lot of time on energy, maybe not coal, this reversal should not be overlooked.
Last month, in what was viewed as a major coup for Illinois, the FutureGen Alliance, a coalition of private companies, chose the central Illinois city of Mattoon over two Texas towns.
From Crain's Chicago Business:
The Energy Department on Wednesday cited its concern about the FutureGen cost escalation. Officials said it was preferable to pursue separate clean coal technologies instead of what one official called "a living laboratory" concept. It will begin a process leading to a solicitation of industry bids for projects by the end of the year.
Despite pleas from two Illinois congressman to President Bush, the decision to pull-the-plug, financially speaking, on FutureGen appears to be final.
Crain's is writing about FutureGen in the past tense, although the alliance vows to carry on with its plans.
The FutureGen program was envisioned as a unique research project that would trigger development of a virtually pollution-free coal plant where carbon dioxide emissions would be captured and buried deep beneath the earth. It would produce both electricity and hydrogen.
As it has been said and written many times before, the United States is the Saudi Arabia of coal.
Related post:
Downstate Illinois town wins new clean coal plant: UPDATED
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