SPRINGFIELD, Illinois, October 9, 2007 (ENS) - The governor of Pennsylvania today announced his support to bring FutureGen, a $1.4 billion, coal-to-energy, zero-emissions facility, to Illinois.

Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell submitted a letter of support for neighboring Illinois to the FutureGen Industrial Alliance, which is developing the facility for the U.S. Department of Energy.

Rendell said he supports locating the project in Mattoon or in Tuscola, two of only four remaining sites under consideration for this public-private project.

The other two candidate sites are both in Texas - in Odessa and in Heart of Brazos.

FutureGen will produce 275 megawatts of electric power, which is enough electricity to power 150,000 homes, as well as hydrogen for fuel cell technology.

Mattoon and Tuscola are located in east central Illinois and are equidistant from Chicago, St. Louis and Indianapolis. With nearby roads, railways, rivers, and airports, the region is well connected.

Mattoon and Tuscola sit above vast coal reserves. "The coal reserves beneath Illinois contain more energy than the oil reserves of Saudi Arabia and Kuwait combined," according to the Illinois Office of Coal Development.

Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich, the Illinois Congressional delegation, and state and local partners have been working for more than four years to bring FutureGen to Illinois.

The Alliance is expected to announce its final selection from the four remaining sites by the end of the year.

"Illinois offers the right mix of geology, expertise, transportation infrastructure, as well as the state and community support, which is necessary for a project of this magnitude," said Gov. Rendell in the letter.

"Illinois' natural characteristics are more common with other coal producing states like Pennsylvania that will look to replicate the technologies demonstrated by the FutureGen project," the governor wrote.

"It is critical that FutureGen is successful," he wrote, "and we believe that the State of Illinois and their sites offer the FutureGen Industrial Alliance the best chance for success in the future."

"Other states committed to clean coal technology like Pennsylvania understand that bringing FutureGen to Illinois is the right decision for our country. Science is on our side to make this project a tremendous success and replicate this technology in other coal rich states," the Illinois governor said.

"The geology, infrastructure and commitment to clean coal technology that exists in Illinois makes us the logical location for FutureGen, and along with the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, we will continue to demonstrate why this project that will change the way we look at energy production belongs here," Governor Blagojevich said.

Indiana and Kentucky are also supportive of Illinois' efforts. Since the two states share the same coal basin, Governor Blagojevich and Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels signed a memo in December 2005 stating that Illinois' strong financial support for coal development, as well as its appealing geologic features, make the state the ideal host for the federally supported project.

Kentucky's Office of Energy Policy also supports Illinois' bid to attract FutureGen.

FutureGen will be designed to be the cleanest fossil fuel-fired power plant in the world. The facility will convert coal into hydrogen and electricity, while capturing and storing the carbon dioxide deep underground. This effort will lay the groundwork for developing similar power plants around the country and the world, providing a framework for new energy projects that capture, rather than release greenhouse gases.

Like Illinois, Pennsylvania is a coal mining state and shares many common characteristics in terms of water, land uses and geology, which makes replicating FutureGen much easier.

Members of the FutureGen Alliance represent the largest energy companies in the United States, plus major energy companies in China and Europe, as well as India and South Korea.

Copyright Environment News Service (ENS) 2007. All rights reserved.