Green Labor Journal - Working for a Substainable Future

FutureGen's Carbon Capture and Storage Project

U.S. DOE-funded clean coal project will produce jobs, clean air and affordable electricity

By Kenneth K. Humphreys Jun 07, 2011

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Coal has provided reliable, affordable energy since it first began powering the nation’s electricity grid in the 1880’s. In fact, 50 percent of the electricity generated in the US is from coal, and the U.S. Energy Information Agency projects that coal will continue to be the primary fuel for power generation for decades. Throughout history, technology innovators have developed and implemented ways to use coal more efficiently and cleanly.

Clean energy projects that use affordable and abundant coal reserves are essential to our nation’s energy security and economic recovery. FutureGen 2.0 is such a project that will produce cleaner air, create jobs and keep our electricity supplies, safe, secure and affordable. 

FutureGen 2.0 in Morgan County, IL
In February 2011, through a competitive process the FutureGen Alliance selected Morgan County, Ill. as the home of FutureGen 2.0. The project is a first-of-its-kind, near-zero emissions power plant that will combine cutting-edge technologies in a single, commercial-scale power plant to eliminate more than 90 percent of its carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions.

Working with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), the FutureGen 2.0 project partners will upgrade a power plant in Meredosia, Ill. with oxy-combustion technology. The DOE’s National Energy Technology Laboratory has identified oxy-combustion as a cost-effective approach to clean up coal power plants. This technology burns coal with a mixture of oxygen and carbon dioxide to produce an ultra-clean stream of CO2 for safe, permanent storage.

The power plant will capture approximately 1.3 million tonnes of CO2 each year. Other emissions will be reduced to near-zero levels. Using safe and proven pipeline technology, the ultra-clean, non-toxic CO2 will be transported to a nearby storage site and stored nearly a mile below the earth's surface—far away from drinking water supplies and farmland. This technology is known as carbon capture and storage (CCS).

Before storing any CO2, the site will undergo an environmental review by DOE in compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). The Environmental Protection Agency will fully permit the site to assure its safety and provide the opportunity for community involvement. Once the CO2 is injected, the FutureGen Alliance, the group building the CO2 pipeline and storage network, will monitor and validate that it is being safely and permanently stored. 

CCS technology is critical to affordable, secure energy
There is wide agreement that CCS technology is critical to our nation’s energy future and global competitiveness. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology released a report in 2007 called “The Future of Coal” that concludes CCS is “the critical enabling technology that would reduce CO2 emissions significantly while also allowing coal to meet the world’s pressing energy needs.” An Interagency Task Force on CCS co-chaired by the DOE and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) states that “continued leadership to develop and deploy CCS technologies as one option to address global climate change will position the United States as a leader in climate change technologies and markets.”  FutureGen 2.0 will advance this technology while providing economic benefits.

 

Job creation and economic opportunity
The total FutureGen 2.0 project budget is estimated to be $1.3 billion. The project is supported by $1 billion from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act and the remainder from private funds.  Of that, $730 million will be used to retrofit and repower the Meredosia power plant and $550 million will be used for construction of the CO2 pipeline and storage facility, as well as visitor, research and training facilities.

This investment will result in job creation and robust economic opportunity for Central Illinois. DOE estimates that 1,000 direct construction jobs and 1,000 additional supplier jobs will be created. In addition, this investment and subsequent operations will lead to permanent jobs and would serve as a platform from which additional economic development could take place. A study conducted by Southern Illinois University showed that a project like FutureGen 2.0 could have a $1 billion economic impact statewide.  

 

Time table
In June of 2011, DOE will begin the Environmental Impact Statement process, which will provide opportunities for public involvement in the project. Heavy construction will begin on all the project’s components in 2012.  By 2015 the repowering of the Meredosia plant, CO2 pipeline and storage facility and the training and research are scheduled to be completed. The project will begin generating electricity and storing CO2 in 2016. 

A pathway to broad, affordable CCS development
As a first-of-its-kind facility, the FutureGen 2.0 project will be the focus of global attention. Researchers and visitors from around the world will visit to learn about its operation so that they can replicate those lessons learned elsewhere.

In short, FutureGen 2.0 will facilitate the commercial development of CCS technology and will demonstrate that carbon storage can be done in a manner that protects human health and the environment. Residents of Morgan County can take pride in the fact that they are playing a key role in developing this innovative technology, creating jobs and making clean, secure energy a reality for generations to come.

Kenneth K. Humphreys is chief executive officer of the FutureGen Alliance, a non-profit international consortium of companies that will build and operate the CO2 pipeline and storage network for the FutureGen 2.0 clean energy project in the U.S. Humphreys has led the Alliance since September 2010, when the U.S. Department of Energy restructured the FutureGen project to be the worlds first large-scale, near-zero emissions power plant using carbon capture and storage (CCS) and oxy-combustion technologies. Previously, Humphreys served as the Alliances managing director.

Prior to his role with the Alliance, Humphreys was Director of the Carbon Management Initiative and was Sustainable Technology Development Chief Engineer at Battelle. He has spent the last 20 years working in the energy sector on public and private sector ventures and is a recognized expert in CCS technology.