Wonderful news in Mattoon, Illinois

[BrianD]

WASHINGTON -- Mattoon, Ill., was chosen this morning as the site for a $1.75 billion coal-fueled power plant, a decision that could bring hundreds of new jobs and clout to the region.

Sources told the Post-Dispatch that FutureGen Industrial Alliance would be announcing their selection of Mattoon. The firm was choosing between Mattoon and Tuscola in Illinois and Odessa and Jewett, Texas.

The power plant is expected to bring with it 150 permanent full-time jobs and 1,300 construction jobs and the honor of being home of the "world's cleanest coal-fueled power plant."

The Energy Department conceived FutureGen in February 2003 as a way to advance so-called clean coal technology. The department is expected to contribute more than $1 billion for the project with the remaining costs shared among the members of the FutureGen Alliance, one of which is St. Louis-based Peabody Energy Corp.

The Illinois General Assembly and Gov. Rod Blagojevich agreed to offer $80 million in tax breaks, grants and low-interest loans to win the project -- a lot, but just a fraction of the $981 billion that Texas had dangled for the project.

FutureGen is expected to begin operation in the fall of 2012. The plant will be able to produce 275 megawatts of electricity, a small fraction of the power produced by conventional plants. However, the real goal is to prove the feasibility of producing electricity from coal with near-zero emissions in hopes that it can jump-start similar projects on a larger scale in the U.S. and around the world.

[Nina51]

cool. i mean, coal.

[drauka99]

workin in the coal mine...justa worlkin in the coal mine alllllll dayyyy longggggg.............

[beerguy]

Good news for your economy.


Bad news for your air.

[BrianD]

No, that is the whole point behind this plant. It is an experimental zero-emissions power plant.

[beerguy]

near-zero

[Fat Man]

So what do they do with the goo that isn't (or near-isn't) emitted?

[BrianD]

Check out the website at www.futuregenalliance.org

The environmental impact will be negligible. As I said, that is the point behind the experimental plant.

[BrianD]

I cannot over-emphasize how big a deal this is. The selection process started 4 years ago, and dozens of communities were fighting for selection. It was narrowed down to 4 sites - 2 in Illinois and 2 in Texas. I watched the announcement via a webcast at a meeting hall with several hundred people in attendance. The governor arrived shortly after the announcement.

As I said, it is huge for this area, and has made some farmers very, very rich.

[beerguy]

Originally posted by BrianD
I can over-emphasize how big a deal this is.

Word

[beerguy]

All of those rich farmers probably need a good accountant.

[beerguy]

Do you send them to Springfield?

[beerguy]

I kill me.

[Fat Man]

Originally posted by BrianD
As I said, it is huge for this area, and has made some farmers very, very rich.

That would be ex-farmers. Jethro load the truck we're headin' for the hills. Beverly Hills that is!

[Fat Man]

Originally posted by BrianD
Check out the website at www.futuregenalliance.org.

The environmental impact will be negligible. As I said, that is the point behind the experimental plant.

Bad linky.

[dwd5813]

so everybody in Mattoon is happy about the coal in their stocking this year?

[beerguy]

Remove the . at the end FM

[Fat Man]

Originally posted by beerguy
Remove the . at the end FM

I guess that's why you're the Omnimpotent Unix Overlord.

[beerguy]

Si!

[Fat Man]

Just some quick tidbits from Chapter Three SUMMARY OF ENVIRONMENTAL CONSEQUENCES of the EIS.

DOE used conservative emissions estimates for the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) analysis
that the Alliance developed using the highest pollutant emission rates for various technology options
being considered for the FutureGen Project, as described in Section 2.5.1.1. The FutureGen Project’s
maximum emissions (including steady-state emissions and unplanned restart emissions) of air pollutants
are estimated to be:
• Sulfur dioxide (SO2) – 543 tons (493 metric tons) per year;
• Nitrogen dioxides (NO2) –758 tons (688 metric tons) per year;
• Particulate matter with a diameter of 10 micrometers or less (PM10) – 111 tons (101 metric tons)
per year;
• Carbon monoxide (CO) – 611 tons (554 metric tons) per year;
• Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) – 30 tons (27 metric tons); and
• Hg – 0.011 ton (0.010 metric ton) per year.


The annual maximum emissions of
SO2, NO2, PM10, and CO estimated for the FutureGen Project would exceed the Prevention of Significant
Deterioration (PSD) major source thresholds of 100 tons (91 metric tons) per year. The estimated annual
HAP and Hg emissions would be below the PSD major source threshold of 10 tons (9.1 metric tons) per
year.


The FutureGen Project would not result in an exceedance of the NAAQS at any of the alternative
sites. However, because of high ambient concentrations of PM2.5, several of the sites would approach the
PM2.5 24-hour standard, with Mattoon being the closest at 93 percent of the standard. Tuscola would be at
92 percent of the standard, Jewett would be at 86 percent, and Odessa would be at 59 percent. For the
annual PM2.5 standard, Jewett would be at 92 percent of this standard, while Mattoon and Tuscola would
be at 84 percent, each. Odessa would be at 52 percent of the annual PM2.5 standard.

Ain't NEPA grand!

All said congratulations to your community (I mean that).

[gtrestoration]

What will they do with the big hole in the ground, another Lake Mattoon maybe?

SteveU

[BrianD]

Originally posted by Fat Man
Bad linky.

Fixed

[BrianD]

Originally posted by gtrestoration
What will they do with the big hole in the ground, another Lake Mattoon maybe?

SteveU

The hole in the ground is already there, deep deep underground. They are more underground cavities than "holes".

[simmons797]

Congrats to Mattoon! I grew up not far from there and have been following this since they first started talking about it several years ago. This should have a very big (hopefully positive) impact on the area.

[Jeffrey Porter]

assist