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St. Louis Post-Dispatch

Lee Enterprises

Wednesday, April 9, 2008 6:10 PM CDT
CEO: Climate policy success depends on FutureGen technology

By the Associated Press

WASHINGTON – FutureGen Alliance Chief Executive Officer Michael J. Mudd told a Senate committee today that any climate change legislation Congress approves will depend on large-scale projects with carbon capture and sequestration technology like that which would be used at the FutureGen facility slated for construction at Mattoon.

“Irrespective of which specific climate policy is ultimately adopted by the Congress, the success of that policy and our economic future will hinge on the availability of affordable, near-zero emission coal technology using carbon capture and sequestration,” said Mudd. “Given that coal is used to generate more than 50 percent of the electricity in the U.S. and is projected to remain the backbone of the U.S. electricity system and the world for most of this century, CCS is essential to our future energy security and to addressing climate change.”

Mudd presented his testimony before the Senate Science, Technology and Innovation Subcommittee during a hearing on coal gasification technologies and the need for large-scale projects to address global climate change.

The FutureGen Alliance is a nonprofit, public-private enterprise that includes 13 companies on six continents participating. As a nonprofit, Mudd said the Alliance would be in the position to share information from the project, which will facilitate deployment of commercial, near-zero emission power plants throughout the world.

Mudd argued that DOE’s recent proposal to restructure FutureGen fails to recognize the scale of the energy and climate challenge and would delay CCS technology by several years. He urged the senators to keep FutureGen at Mattoon moving forward.

“DOE’s proposal to restructure the FutureGen program will delay technology development and integrated demonstration of commercial scale CCS by five years or more,” said Mudd. “There is no program in the world that can move near-zero emission power and CCS further or faster than FutureGen at Mattoon.”

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The Question wrote on Apr 9, 2008 2:41 PM:

" Stick a fork in it. "

krusayda wrote on Apr 9, 2008 3:19 PM:

" Really, why beat a dead horse to death? "

291953 wrote on Apr 9, 2008 6:06 PM:

" It's only dead if you accept the con job and being treated like fools by the people in Washington. The more you do that, the less Mattoon/Charleston will be considered. "

jolene wrote on Apr 9, 2008 7:40 PM:

" Maybe we don't want Mattoon/Charleston to be considered for FutureGen. Let them find labratory rats in other locations willing to find out just what the impact of this project is! There are certainly other options that can be explored that would not put human lives at risk! Was there ever a vote? GOOD BYE FUTUREGEN! "

The Question wrote on Apr 10, 2008 5:46 AM:

" Why not have Coles Together donate a few more million to this deader-than-a-doornail federal project? "

Early Bird wrote on Apr 10, 2008 6:30 AM:

" Anyone care to remind us just how close that "experimental" facility was to Riddle elementary school in Mattoon. Thank God the Bush administration steeped in, and even though it was probably a political decision on their part, we will probably be better off without that disaster in waiting to have been built here. "

Tom Andres wrote on Apr 10, 2008 9:29 AM:

" The Question, krusayda, jolene, Early Bird, all naysayers: Dust off your Welcome FutureGen signs. "

The Question wrote on Apr 10, 2008 11:08 AM:

" " The Question, krusayda, jolene, Early Bird, all naysayers: Dust off your Welcome FutureGen signs. "
----
I only ask that you hold your breath until that happens, Tommykins. Your opinions about FutureGen are just as valid as your opinions about the Iraq invasion and occupation. "

Tom Andres wrote on Apr 10, 2008 1:24 PM:

" TQ, thanking you in advance. I knew you'd come around when you finally figured out who is on the winning side. "

The Question wrote on Apr 10, 2008 2:56 PM:

" You're more than welcome, Tom. "

cd wrote on Apr 10, 2008 4:28 PM:

" The Question wrote on Apr 10, 2008 5:46 AM:

" Why not have Coles Together donate a few more million to this deader-than-a-doornail federal project? "
-------------
How old is 'Coles Together'? Are all the members from Mattoon? From what I've seen, everything goes to Mattoon. So maybe Coles Together is deader-than-a-doornail.
If taxpayers fund Coles Together, then only those taxpayers in the township benefits directly should be taxed. (If it's not built there, you're not taxed.) "

Tom Andres wrote on Apr 10, 2008 5:33 PM:

" Yeah, let's build a border fence and then no one from Charleston can work in Mattoon, and vice versa. :) "

Harry Potter wrote on Apr 10, 2008 7:55 PM:

" Tom must be from Mattoon. "

jolene wrote on Apr 11, 2008 5:56 PM:

" Mr Andres
Thank you so much! You are right, we all need to dust off our "Welcome FutureGen" signs. Now can you tell me what location to take them for the burning for alternative energy? I will even go out and take them off the lawns so we can burn them all for energy! Brilliant! "

Tom Andres wrote on Apr 11, 2008 6:31 PM:

" I'm jes sayin, jolene, tryin to give y'all a heads up. If you can buy some rental property or start up a restaurant or bar somewhere on the west side of town, now is the time to do it. FutureGen is a comin! Get ready for some very long waits at the railroad crossings. // By the way, better not be burning any of those signs inside the city limits without checking with the hot dog/marshmallow police first. "

Harry Potter wrote on Apr 11, 2008 9:07 PM:

" Don't blame our friend Tom, he still believes in the tooth faerie and the Easter Bunny. Hey Tom, wanna talk about some swamp land? "