ILLINOIS COULD FACE COMPETITION FROM OHIO FOR FUTUREGEN PROJECT

[Cuban_Liberal]

ILLINOIS COULD FACE COMPETITION FROM OHIO FOR FUTUREGEN PROJECT

BY NICOLE SACK
THE SOUTHERN


CARBONDALE -- Illinois may receive some stiff competition from Ohio as the states vie to capture the $1 billion FutureGen project.

U.S. Rep. John Shimkus, R-Collinsville, said Friday that both states are similar in their geological makeup, which is crucial for coal-fired plant that will sequester emissions underground, but with all things being even, politics may tip the scales.

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Shimkus said the placement of the emission-free plant should not be based on partisan politics, but rather the qualifications of the location.

On Jan. 27 the Illinois congressional delegation petitioned U.S. Department of Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman to place the FutureGen initiative in Illinois. Among the reasons cited were the fact that Illinois has almost one-eighth of the coal reserves in the United States as well as the largest reserves of bituminous coal in the nation, Southern Illinois University operates the Coal Research Center one of the field's most comprehensive programs and that state's geological composition....

More: http://www.southernillinoisan.com/articles/2005/02/05/top/doc4204741f543e3979838607.txt