Abby L. Harvey
GHG Monitor
9/5/2014
The Environmental Protection Agency announced this week that four Class VI Underground Injection Control (UIC) permits have been issued to the FutureGen 2.0 carbon capture and sequestration project. The permits, which will allow the FutureGen Alliance to construct and operate four wells to inject carbon dioxide into the Illinois Basin’s deep saline Mount Simon Formation, are the first ever issued in the United States. “The issuance of the permit is a major milestone that will allow FutureGen 2.0 to stay on track to develop the first ever commercial-scale, near-zero emissions coal-fueled power plant with integrated carbon capture and storage,” FutureGen Alliance CEO Ken Humphreys said in a written statement. “The Alliance appreciates the work the EPA has done to complete the permitting process. This new class of permit offers a superior level of environmental protection, monitoring, and financial assurances. The FutureGen Alliance has a broad responsibility to not only meet EPA’s regulations to protect groundwater, but also to protect public health and safety and the environment in all aspects of the FutureGen 2.0 project,” Humphreys said.
The approval of the permits follows a lengthy review of the applications by the EPA, as well as a public hearing. According to an EPA press release, the agency “completed a technical review of the permits and responded to over 280 public comments before approving the permits. FutureGen can begin drilling the wells next month in preparation for injecting liquefied carbon dioxide.” However, the release goes on to state that, “FutureGen must demonstrate the integrity of the wells before injecting carbon dioxide and conduct extensive monitoring at the location.” While the issuance of the permits is a step forward for FutureGen, there is a chance that the decision could be appealed.
The first-of-its-kind FutureGen 2.0 project will upgrade an existing coal burning power plant near Meredosia, Ill with oxy-combustion technology which will capture CO2 at a rate of roughly 1.1 million tons annually, according to a FutureGen Alliance fact sheet. The captured CO2 will be transported via pipeline roughly 30 miles east where it will be injected for permanent storage roughly 4,000 feet underground though the four injection wells. The project’s price tag currently sits at $1.65 billion, including $1 billion in American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funding which holds a spending deadline of September 2015. Construction at the plant is underway, a FutureGen spokesperson told GHG Monitor, with work taking place on the foundation for the new chimney. A decision to ramp up construction can be expected in coming months, the spokesperson said. The project is expected to be operational by 2017.
