Tuesday, December 18, 2007 6:45 PM CST
State scientist says Illinois has best geology for FutureGen plant
By NATHANIEL WEST, Staff Writer
nwest@jg-tc.com
CHAMPAIGN – Robert J. Finley wasn’t surprised that Illinois, not Texas, was named the new home for the environmentally friendly FutureGen power plant.
“I felt that our geology here at both the Mattoon and Tuscola sites was very favorable,” said Finley.
He would know.
As director of the Energy and Earth Resources Center at the Illinois State Geological Survey, Finley helped analyze data about the geology of the four finalists for FutureGen -- Mattoon and Tuscola in Illinois and Jewett and Odessa in Texas -- and he believes the rock strata underneath Illinois is best suited for storing carbon dioxide emissions from the next-generation, coal-fired power plant.
FutureGen officials on Tuesday announced that Mattoon was picked over the other three contenders.
Finley, who worked formerly for the ISGS’ counterpart in Texas (called the Bureau of Economic Geology), said the geological traits of the two Illinois sites were superior to the proposed locations in Texas.
Through a process called “carbon sequestration,” carbon dioxide is pumped into natural reservoirs of rock far below the surface. And as a result of Tuesday’s announcement, the carbon dioxide from the FutureGen plant will end up in the Mount Simon rock formation beneath Mattoon, not the Earth’s atmosphere.
According to Finley, the rock layers under the proposed Texas sites were punctured by previous drilling efforts, while the Mount Simon layer in the Mattoon area is unblemished.
“We know it has a good ‘cap rock’ seal over it which is going to keep the carbon dioxide in place,” he said. But the Texas “geology was more diverse; there were more wells drilled through that cap rock near where they (intended) to inject.”
The Mount Simon layer already has proven its storage capability: The rock formation for decades has held natural gas at locations north of the Illinois FutureGen candidates, according to ISGS officials.
“We know we can inject into it,” Finley said. “I felt the geology we had to offer was outstanding in terms of its ability to hold the carbon dioxide.”
Next, scientists will use sound waves to develop a three-dimensional image of the rock beds below the Mattoon site. This will sharpen details about the “subsurface,” and also pinpoint the ideal spot for a carbon sequestration well, according to Finley.
“It will tell (us) how deep are the beds, how thick the beds are, and it will help us place the exact location of the injection well,” Finley said.
Officials previously conducted a two-dimensional survey of the Mount Simon formation. “It did show us that (Mattoon) was a suitable site,” said Finley, noting the data was forwarded to FutureGen officials “so we could illustrate for them the favorable geology of the site.”
He said that, of the four finalists, only Mattoon could offer on-site injection of the carbon dioxide.
“I think we’ve got great geology,” Finley said. “Every expectation is that the geology will support the project, and will result in a safe and effective project.”
Contact Nathaniel West at nwest@jg-tc.com or 238-6860.
Go to our multimedia page to watch an audio slide show from the announcement of the bid winner for the FutureGen site.
and
Don't forget to pick up a copy of tomorrow's edition of the JG/T-C for complete FutureGen coverage and a special FutureGen section.
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.
|
|
CLICK TO ENLARGE
|
|
|
TommyTutone wrote on Dec 19, 2007 12:58 AM: