DOE Issues Record of Decision for Long-Anticipated FutureGen 2.0 Project

Last month, the U.S. Department of Energy completed its review of the FutureGen 2.0 Project under the National Environmental Policy Act and issued a Record of Decision that will provide approximately $1 billion in funding. The FutureGen 2.0 Project will involve upgrading an existing coal-fired unit at a power plant in central Illinois with oxy-combustion and carbon capture technologies that will allow approximately 90% of the unit’s CO2 emissions to be captured. The captured CO2 will then be transported through a 30-mile pipeline to wells where the gas will be injected 4,000 feet below the surface into a geologic saline formation for permanent storage. Construction is expected to begin on the project later this year, with commercial operations expected to commence in 2017.