Political Quotes

“we are nearing an important milestone in the development of an ambitious project to develop new, environmentally friendly ways of using coal. FutureGen is a joint venture between the Department of Energy and an international, non-profit consortium of coal producers and energy generators. The FutureGen project will explore the viability of capturing and sequestering carbon dioxide an unwanted by-product of coal use. The plan is to begin facility construction for the project in 2010, with full-scale operation beginning in 2013. The plant will generate approximately 275 megawatts of electricity, which is enough to supply 150,000 homes. The key to the FutureGen project, of course, is siting it at a location that can best meet the project's goals for carbon capture and sequestration. Right now four sites are under consideration, including Mattoon and Tuscola, IL. Those sites are ideally suited for this project. Illinois is coal country. Our State has 38 billion tons of recoverable bituminous coal reserves, the largest in the Nation. That's one-eighth of the total U.S. coal reserves, representing more energy than the oil reserves of Saudi Arabia and Kuwait combined. The Illinois sites have an abundant and reliable supply of water. The deep, thick, undisturbed sandstone reservoirs of southern Illinois are well suited for carbon sequestration.”