Despite President Bush’s committment to invest in “clean coal” technology at last Monday’s State of the Union address, the government announced Tuesday that the state-of-the-art FutureGen coal plant planned for downstate Mattoon, Illinois, was not worth the $1.8 billion price tag. Illinois Senator Dick Durbin called the move a “cruel deception,” and vowed the Illinois Congressional delegation would not go down without a fight.
The 275 megawatt plant was to achieve ”near zero emissions” by utilizing the latest in coal gasification technology and pumping CO2 emissions into deep underground geological chambers, a process known as “carbon sequestration.” The decision cost Illinois over 1,000 jobs, and may play a role in next Tuesday’s Illinois primaries should any of the candidates address it.
Both Obama and Clinton support carbon caps and “clean coal” technologies such as coal gasification, as long as they emit 20% less carbon over their life cycle than conventional fuels. McCain, Romney and Huckabee each support the use of coal, but none support a carbon cap as strict as the Democrats. See where all the candidates stand on coal with this chart.
