Friday, June 29, 2007 1:12 AM CDT
Residents speak out during Tuscola session on FutureGen
By HERB MEEKER, Staff Writer
hmeeker@jg-tc.com
TUSCOLA — Some landowners proclaim “not in my backyard” when it comes to power plants coming to their communities.
Tuscola resident John Kennedy assured FutureGen Alliance and Department of Energy officials Thursday night that is not the attitude of his community.
“There’s no ‘not in my backyard’ here,” Kennedy said with pride during a public hearing with a near standing-room-only crowd in the Tuscola Community Center. “There are a lot of positives for this project. I don’t see negatives.”
George Wineland said Tuscola has the capacity to handle any environmental impact from the coal-burning plant that will combine advanced technology to produce near-zero emissions and pump carbon dioxide underground to reduce climate-changing greenhouse emissions.
“We feel strongly that in case of an emergency we will be able to respond,” said Wineland, who serves as assistant Tuscola fire chief and coordinator of the hazardous material response team for the community. “We have seen many of these chemicals mentioned in your Environmental Impact Statement.”
The EIS meticulously reviewed many environmental factors, including water sources, geology, chemical risks and wildlife possibly affected by the $1.5-billion power plant, which will be built either in Tuscola, Mattoon or one of two sites in Texas. Selection is expected in late November.
Construction would start in 2009, and the prototype plant, described as a “research platform” for changing the future of coal in the energy market, would go into operation by late 2012.
Wineland joked about how the report mentioned one species of wildlife he has not encountered during his years in Douglas County.
“I have never seen a Kirkland snake,” he said, eliciting laughter from the audience. But he hinted an Indiana bat might be flying around now and then.
For the most part, constructing the FutureGen plant west of Tuscola will not have much of an impact on wildlife.
At press time, the hearing for drawing public comment or questions had drawn enthusiastic support for FutureGen.
The project is drawing worldwide attention, too.
Alliance CEO Mike Mudd said a recent global conference on energy usage revealed great enthusiasm for FutureGen, especially for its plans to store millions of tons of carbon dioxide underground in saline deposits. The greenhouse gas would be pumped into the ground in liquid form and absorbed in sandstone deposits more than a mile below the surface.
The estimated cost of the project is $1.5 billion, plus $300 million for coal-related costs. The share of costs will be 74 percent from the Department of Energy and 26 percent from the alliance, which includes energy-related companies in North America, Africa, Asia and Australia. Countries like China, South Korea and Japan have committed support to FutureGen as well.
Illinois has committed a $17-million direct grant as part of its investment package for drawing FutureGen to the state. The grant can be use for project costs.
Additional state support includes a sales tax exemption on building materials and specified equipment through enterprise zones for the two communities. The Illinois Finance Authority is offering $50 million for lower-than-market-rate loans to the alliance.
Illinois officials want FutureGen because it will generate a windfall of money for the state and local communities. One study shows the project would bring in $135 million annually statewide and $85 million more in economic output in Coles and Douglas counties if either Mattoon or Tuscola is selected.
It also is expected to create 360 jobs directly and about 1,500 full-time jobs statewide, based on a study by Southern Illinois University Carbondale.
And that has many people in Tuscola wanting it in their backyard.
Contact Herb Meeker at hmeeker@jg-tc.com or 238-6869.
Add your comments
Not already registered?
Then click Here.
Comment policy:
JG-TC.com encourages readers to engage in civil conversation with their neighbors. Comments that are submitted are not posted to the site immediately. They go into a queue to be moderated and may take several hours to be reviewed. Comments posted on Saturday may not be reviewed until Sunday afternoon.
In order to keep the page a set width, long lines (mostly long links) will be chopped. Try putting spaces in your links or consider using tinyurl.com to make a smaller link that you can include.
We will never edit or alter your comments, but we do reserve the right to remove comments that violate our code of conduct.
No comment may contain:
* Potentially libelous statements; such as accusing somebody of a crime, defamation of character, or statements that can harm somebody's reputation.
* Obscene, explicit, or racist language.
* Personal attacks, insults, threats, harassment or inciting violence.
* Commercial product promotions.
If you have any questions, please contact our moderator.
|
|
|
