FutureGen Alliance Selects Morgan County, Ill., as the Site for the FutureGen 2.0 Carbon Storage Facility
SPRINGFIELD, Ill., Feb. 28, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The FutureGen Alliance has selected Morgan County, Ill., as the preferred location for the FutureGen 2.0 carbon dioxide (CO2) storage site, visitor center, research, and training facilities.
Among the factors that resulted in the selection of the Morgan County site are its high quality geology, which is well suited for safe and secure long-term storage of CO2, and its close proximity to the Meredosia power plant, which simplifies pipeline routing and substantially reduces the project's overall cost. Further, there has been a strong show of support from community business and elected leaders, as well as significant support from directly affected landowners.
"We had an exceptional portfolio of sites from which to choose. Ultimately, the Alliance selected the site that best supported the overall mission of the project cost-effectively. Along with the CO2 storage site, a visitor center, and research and training facilities will be located in Morgan County. These facilities are critical to the project's mission to advance clean coal technology in central Illinois and worldwide. This project will put Morgan County and Illinois on the global map as a center of clean energy technology," said Kenneth K. Humphreys, chief executive officer of the FutureGen Alliance, the non-profit international consortium of companies that will build and operate the nation's first fully integrated pipeline and carbon storage facility. "The capital investment in the overall project will be a significant economic boost for Morgan County and surrounding areas, resulting in more than 1,000 construction jobs and 1,000 service sector jobs."
Using safe, proven pipeline technology, the CO2 storage facility will receive and store emissions from an Ameren Energy Resources power plant in Meredosia, Ill., that will be repowered with advanced oxy-combustion technology provided by The Babcock & Wilcox Company and Air Liquide Process and Construction, Inc. The FutureGen 2.0 technologies have the potential to repower the world's fleet of coal-fueled power plants in a manner that largely eliminates their emissions, spurs job creation and substantially advances clean energy technology around the globe.
With the selection of the Morgan County site now complete, the Alliance will conduct further geologic characterization this summer. Should concerns arise around the technical, legal, or public acceptability of the preferred site, the Alliance has identified the Christian and Douglas County sites as alternative sites.
The total cost of the FutureGen 2.0 Program is approximately $1.3 billion dollars and is supported by a $1 billion commitment in federal funding from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. Consistent with the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) obligations under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) the DOE will now begin an environmental review that will afford opportunities for public participation and comments
SOURCE FutureGen Alliance
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