OCDO

FutureGen

State leaders were informed by the FutureGen Industrial Alliance on July 25 that Ohio's two proposed FutureGen sites in Meigs and Tuscarawas Counties were not included on the short list of finalist sites.  Two sites each in Texas and Illinois were named finalists in the FutureGen competition.

The Alliance provided the Ohio team with a technical briefing in August to explain how the state's two sites were rated in the evaluation process.  Ohio's Final Report on the competition and the evaluation is available on this site.  Prior to learning the outcome of the evaluation process, the Ohio FutureGen Task Force released an Interim Report that lists several dozen positive benefits realized by the state as a result of its competition for FutureGen.

Ohio submitted two separate proposals for consideration – one in Tuscarawas County and the other in Meigs County.  The Ohio Air Quality Development Authority, the Ohio Rail Development Commission, the Ohio Department of Development, the Ohio Water Development Authority and the Governor’s Office of Appalachia have partnered with the United States Department of Agriculture – Rural Development Office to offer an incentive package valued at up to $164 million.

The $1 billion FutureGen project is expected to create more than 1,000 construction jobs and another 100-plus facility and research positions, provide spin-off research opportunities, and ultimately generate 275 megawatts of electricity.  In addition to producing near-zero emissions, FutureGen will produce hydrogen for use as a fuel source and will store carbon dioxide in deep, underground geologic formations.

FutureGen is jointly proposed by the Industrial Alliance and the United States Department of Energy (DOE).  A short list of the most qualified states will be identified in mid-2006, with a final site selection expected in mid- to late-2007.

The Industrial Alliance will contribute $250 million to the project.  The Alliance consists of American Electric Power (Columbus, Ohio); BHP Billiton (Melbourne, Australia); CONSOL Energy Inc. (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania); Foundation Coal (Linthicum Heights, Maryland); China Huaneng Group (Beijing, China); Kennecott Energy (Gillette, Wyoming); Peabody Energy (St. Louis, Missouri); and Southern Company (Atlanta, Georgia).

Link to the FutureGen Alliance Web site

Basic FutureGen information can be found at: http://fossil.energy.gov/news/techlines/2005/tl_futuregen_signing.html