REPORTS: MEETING DRAWS LITTLE LOCAL OPPOSITION TO FUTUREGEN

Tamar Hallerman
GHG Monitor
5/24/13

FutureGen 2.0’s top official appeared optimistic heading into a Department of Energy-sponsored public information meeting in Jacksonville, Ill., this week, with local media reports noting little opposition to the $1.65 billion carbon capture and storage flagship at the subsequent event. FutureGen Alliance Chief Executive Ken Humphreys told reporters prior to a May 21 public meeting that the industry consortium, which is spearheading the development of the oxy-combustion retrofit project, was “quite pleased” with DOE’s conclusion in its draft environmental impact statement last month that FutureGen would not have a significant environment impact on the surrounding area in western Illinois. “I certainly feel that within the community over the last 24 months, as we’ve gotten more information out, community support has grown, and I hope that support will be reflected tonight,” Humphreys said. “We’ve made a lot of adjustments to address concerns from the stakeholders.”

Local media reports chronicling the subsequent public meeting indicated that people in attendance appeared largely in support of the project. The Jacksonville Journal-Courier reported that about 80 members of the public were in attendance Tuesday and that all but one spoke in favor of building the project. DOE hosted the meeting as part of the public comment period of the National Environmental Policy Act process as the Department decides whether the allocate the project the lion’s share of its $1 billion stimulus grant set aside for construction work, plant commissioning and initial operations. In its 600-page draft EIS, DOE concluded that the project could have potential “minor adverse impacts” on nearby groundwater, geology and air quality during construction and operations, but would likely have a “beneficial impact” on the surrounding area’s climate and greenhouse gas emissions. Public comments are being collected through mid-June, and a record of decision from DOE is expected this fall.

Permit Applications Await Regulatory Approval

As the Alliance awaits a final determination from DOE, project officials are seeking regulatory approval for multiple permit applications recently submitted for its surrounding air, water and pipeline route. “We now have in front of regulators a whole portfolio of permit applications,” Humphreys told reporters. The Alliance recently submitted its Class VI Underground Injection Control permit application to the Environmental Protection Agency’s regional office for the CO2 sequestration aspect of the project. Humphreys said he is confident about the storage integrity of the region’s Mt. Simon sandstone formation. “Bottom line, the storage site continues to look like a superb location for the project,” he said. The Alliance is also moving forward with a second phase of proceedings with utility regulators to hash out the details of the project’s 20-year power purchase agreement (PPA) with the state approved in December.

In the meantime, the Alliance and its partners Air Liquide and the Babcock & Wilcox Power Generation Group are continuing to move forward with the project’s 16-month, $140 million Phase II front-end engineering and design work greenlighted by the Department in February. That effort should be complete next spring, Humphreys said, ahead of financial close and construction expected in early summer 2014. But the 168 MW project’s boosters still face a legal challenge from utilities and other Illinois power groups opposed to its PPA. Humphreys said this week that the Illinois Appellate Court will conduct proceedings on the case throughout the remainder of the calendar year, with a ruling expected in early 2014. “But it won’t stop any work on the project,” Humphreys said. “We’ll keep proceeding as planned.”