Mayors of Decatur and Marshall Are Making Their Pitch for FutureGen

The Mayor of Decatur said he has received his share of questions from residents about bringing FutureGen's carbon emissions storage facility to the city.

Mike McElroy said once the Department of Energy canceled the original plan for a power plant in Mattoon and that city rejected the revamped plan, he placed a call to U.S. Senator Dick Durbin's office expressing interest in the so-called clean coal project.

McElroy said he expects to receive more details soon about FutureGen 2.0. He said any answers not given by the energy department could be provided by one of the city's major employers - noting Archer Daniels Midland (ADM) is developing a carbon capture facility.

"Once the Department of Energy sends its stuff, we can give them the answers," said McElroy. "I feel very secure of the fact that we can call out to ADM and talk to the people that are running that.and they will give us the answers that we're looking for."

McElroy says he does not know where the FutureGen facility could be located in his city.

Meanwhile, a small southeastern Illinois community that was in the running for the original FutureGen power plant is doing what it can to recruit the carbon dioxide storage facility. Marshall Mayor Ken Smith said he has let his interests about the project known with Senator Durbin's office and the Department of Energy.

Marshall housed the chemical plant, Velsicol, for more than 40 years in a 400 acre site, and Smith said the city has the deep wells that would accommodate the carbon emissions site the DOE now wants to build as part of FutureGen 2.0. If Marshall can lure in FutureGen's storage facility, Smith said the facilities could stimulate more jobs in the community.

"It might also spark some interest of a power plant here in the future if they know they can already sequester here," said Smith. "The property owner that has this land also owns about 8,000 acres in Clark County, and he's also in the power plant business, he owns Indeck Energy. So he's very receptive to it being here if it works out."

Marshall is also the county seat in Clark County, where Smith noted the unemployment rate exceeds 12-percent. He says the DOE should be sending his community a packet on facility requirements soon. One of about 25 cities is looking to store carbon dioxide emissions after being piped from a retrofitted power plant in the Western Illinois city of Meredosia.