Future generations ripped off by FutureGen
source: http://www.myphl17.com/sns-ap-us-futuregen,0,3294831.story
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Energy Department is moving forward on a futuristic coal-burning power plant in Illinois that the Bush administration had declared dead.
Negotiations for the FutureGen project have been under way since the Obama administration announced it would consider reviving the project. Under President George W. Bush, the project was canceled after cost overruns that a congressional auditor later said were based on false projections.
The Energy Department will commit more than $1 billion to the project, under the agreement announced on Friday, with the government's contribution drawn almost entirely from federal economic stimulus funds.
The FutureGen plant would use Illinois coal, which is high in sulfur and has been used less frequently after changes to the Clean Air Act in 1990. As originally planned, the plant would have experimented with coal from Texas and Wyoming, too.
"Eighty percent of our coal now goes out of state because almost every power plant in this state decided to switch to (cleaner) western coal," said Phil Gonet, a spokesman for the Illinois Coal Association. Illinois officials said they were elated with FutureGen's resurrection. U.S. Sen. Richard Durbin, D-Ill., called the plant's revival a "historic moment."
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ras_menelik
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The Clean Coal Technology Program began in 1985 when the United States and Canada decided that something had to be done about the "acid rain" that was believed to be damaging rivers, lakes, forests, and buildings in both countries. Since many of the pollutants that formed "acid rain" were coming from big coal-burning power plants in the United States, the U.S. Government took the lead in finding a solution.
- 2 years ago
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ras_menelik
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ras_menelik
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Negotiations for the FutureGen project have been under way since the Obama administration announced it would consider reviving the project. Under President George W. Bush, the project was canceled after cost overruns that a congressional auditor later said were based on false projections.
If I had my way coal burning would stop(every where)
No,well then maybe if this is proven to work and the China adopt it.......The next best thing?
- 2 years ago
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ras_menelik
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JanforGore
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Yes, we will get coal and nuclear whether we want it or not. Same political doubletalk. Just smoother talkers.
- 2 years ago
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JanforGore
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futuregen
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More "forward thinking" on the energy front from US Energy Secretary Chu.
Chu would like to see bigger nuclear share of US energy mix
Washington (Platts)--4Jun2009
US Energy Secretary Steven Chu, calling nuclear energy "clean" baseload
power, told members of a House Appropriations subcommittee Wednesday that he
would like to see nuclear's share of the US energy mix increased beyond its
current 20% stake.Chu made his comments at the Energy and Water Resources Subcommittee's
first hearing on the Department of Energy's fiscal 2010 budget request. Both
Democrat and Republican members of the subcommittee repeatedly stressed to Chu
the need to keep nuclear power as part of the country's energy mix.The secretary, however, signaled that DOE would not seek increased funds
for nuclear loan guarantee program, which now has $18.7 billion. Chu said that
amount could accommodate three or four new reactors. He indicated that any
additional funds for high-cost nuclear guarantees could take funds away from
other energy projects, putting too much of the country's energy planning in
one basket.He also expressed concern about the amount of time needed to license new
reactors and said he would like to see all that work wrapped up in less than
10 years.The US "needs diversity of energy supplies and nuclear power must be part
of that mix," subcommittee Vice Chairman Ed Pastor, an Arizona Democrat, said.Asked by Idaho Republican Mike Simpson whether the Yucca Mountain
site in Nevada as a permanent repository is dead, Chu responded, "yes." The
secretary added that a blue-ribbon panel, which has not yet been appointed,
will look at alternatives. Simpson asked if the panel would have the option to
make recommendations on the Yucca Mountain project, Chu quickly replied that
"Yucca is off the table."In response to subsequent questions from Simpson, Chu noted that whether
all sites previously considered for a repository would be looked at again
would depend on the blue-ribbon panel's findings. Sites in roughly 30 states
had been considered as part of DOE's previous first and second repository
programs. A recommendation from the panel that the commercial spent fuel in
the US be reprocessed and recycled into fresh fuel would alter the waste form
requiring disposal in a deep-geologic repository and, as a result, could
affect the type of geologic medium needed to safely dispose of that waste, he
said.
--Elaine Hiruo, elaine_hiruo@platts.com - 2 years ago
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futuregen
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futuregen
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More asthma to look forward to. Illinois is definitely ill. No "forward thinking" here. I guess that's what all those subliminal messages in the mining ads are for.
- 2 years ago
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futuregen
