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Tuesday, November 3, 2009 10:08 PM CST
OUR VIEW: No shortage of challenges for FutureGen
By the JG/T-C Editorial Board
editorial@jg-tc.com
Doing anything for the first time can be challenging, as FutureGen Alliance officials continue to discover.
Since the public/private power plant venture was announced in April 2006, it has been difficult for all involved to keep the project moving to Mattoon.
The latest challenge for FutureGen officials is to convince the Illinois General Assembly to commit to purchasing electricity produced by the near-zero emissions power plant once it is built.
Some members of the Senate Energy Committee voiced concerns about the cost of the electricity. As Michael Mudd, CEO of the FutureGen Alliance, pointed out, predicting the cost of electricity in four or five years may be about as precise as predicting the weather that far into the future.
FutureGen officials have proposed that the state buy electricity from the experimental FutureGen plant to power state-operated facilities. While it is understandable that lawmakers and all Illinois residents ought to be concerned about the cost of electricity purchased, the state does have the opportunity to cap the amount it spends.
The Legislature approved a bill earlier this year requiring private utilities such as Ameren to purchase a percentage of their power from a proposed coal-powered plant in Taylorville. The cap on that price amounts to no more than about 2 percent over other possible sources of electricity.
Mudd said the bill for the state to purchase FutureGen-produced electricity has a similar cap.
Another reason it is difficult to pinpoint costs for the FutureGen-produced power is because no one has ever done it before — produce coal gasification power while sequestering carbon dioxide emissions thousands of feet below ground.
FutureGen is an experimental plant that involves public and private partners from several countries.
While alternative energy is the popular buzzword, it is unlikely that wind, solar and other energy sources can replace the amount of coal used worldwide anytime soon.
If coal is to have a future as a power source, it must be used more cleanly. FutureGen hopes to be the wave of that coal future.
Unlike the previous Department of Energy administration, current Energy Secretary Steven Chu believes FutureGen has merit. The federal government is willing to commit almost $1.1 billion to the project if Mudd and his team can meet certain challenges.
Those challenges laid out by DOE last summer include developing a site-specific design and updated cost estimates for the Mattoon location; more subsurface research; and increasing the FutureGen Alliance membership from about 13 partners to 20 with each contributing $20 million to $30 million to close the current funding gap.
And, the challenges stipulate: “Look at options for selling the plant or electricity, to recoup some of the funding once the experimental phase ends.”
That’s why FutureGen approached the state of Illinois.
The Senate Energy Committee voted to send the bill to the Senate floor for a final vote. The Legislature is not scheduled to return to Springfield until January.
DOE plans to make a final decision in January or February on whether or not to continue with the FutureGen project.
FutureGen supporters need to assure Illinois lawmakers that investing in FutureGen continues to be a wise decision and that purchasing electricity from this power plant of the future will fit within the state’s budget.
— JG/T-C Editorial Board
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JWT wrote on Nov 5, 2009 8:13 PM: