U.S. Department of Energy Abandons FutureGen Clean-Coal Power Project

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Written by Richard Finlayson, Senior International Editor for Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has scrapped the FutureGen project to refit a coal-fired power plant and store carbon dioxide.

The FutureGen Alliance, which had companies working on the project in Meredosia, Illinois, said it was disappointed by the DOE decision but unable to make up the $1.65 billion project commitment.

Federal funding was the key component for the project. The DOE told the alliance that the project could not realistically use the federal stimulus funds by the September deadline, according to FutureGen Alliance.

Last September, the project reached a milestone when the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued permits for FutureGen to start storing carbon underground. To date, $116.5 million has been spent on the power plant, and $86 million on the underground storage site.

The project has a long history of stops and starts. The DOE and the Alliance have made no comment whether the dramatic drop in hydrocarbon prices had an impact on the decision to scrap the project.

For related information, see April 29, 2014, article - FutureGen 2.0 Power Project Moves Forward, Eyes Late-2014 Construction Start, and June 25, 2013, article - U.S. Carbon Capture and Storage Projects See Slow Development and Cancellations.

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