Earlier this month the Obama Administration breathed new life into the FutureGen experimental “clean coal” electric generating plant in Mattoon, Ill., that would trap and store carbon dioxide emissions. The administration pledged $1 billion to its development.
Initially introduced by the Bush administration in 2003 as a means to develop low-emissions coal-fired power plants, the project was dropped early last year due to cost overruns. FutureGen Alliance, a consortium of coal and utility companies working to build the plan, estimate the project will cost approximately $2.4 billion to complete.