EPA OKs FutureGen Permits
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency approved permits for the FutureGen clean coal project to store carbon dioxide underground.
The permits approved Tuesday are a key piece of the project. FutureGen aims to capture carbon dioxide from coal at a power plant in western Illinois and store it. Carbon dioxide is a greenhouse gas linked to climate change.
The EPA said the permits are the first of this type for carbon sequestration.
FutureGen Alliance CEO Ken Humphreys called the permits a major milestone.
The alliance has said construction recently started on parts of its long-planned $1.6 billion project in Meredosia, Illinois The U.S. Department of Energy is providing $1 billion.
The project still faces a complaint filed by the Sierra Club with the Illinois Pollution Control Board over potential air pollution.
Links
- Lawsuit Aimed At FutureGen Pollution Standards
- Ameren Ending Partnership in FutureGen Project
- FutureGen Hearings Planned for June
- Morgan County Chosen Over Douglas and 2 Others For FutureGen Storage Site
- Western Illinois Site Gets FutureGen Storage Facility
- Feds Commit Billion Dollars to FutureGen, Ameren Launches Study to Retrofit Plant
- Sierra Club filing against FutureGen with IL Pollution Control board
- FutureGen permit application with US EPA