Taylorville Sertoma Club Hears from Taylorville Energy Center Representatives
September 14, 2009

Today, Taylorville Energy Center (TEC) representatives Jack Brown and Dan Culver attended the regular meeting for the Sertoma Club of Taylorville.  Culver briefed the audience of approximately 20 people on the latest development activities for the project.

The Taylorville Energy Center development team expects to complete a Front End Engineering and Design (FEED) Study, which involves detailed engineering, this year. The FEED study will be used to assemble a facility cost report, which is on schedule to be presented to the Illinois General Assembly in the spring of 2010. The Illinois Legislature will review the facility cost report to ensure Illinois ratepayers are protected before construction begins on the project. 

Culver reported that construction is expected to commence in late 2010 with commercial operation planned for 2014. Momentum, Culver explained, continued to ramp up this year. The U.S. Department of Energy selected TEC to proceed into term sheet negotiations for a loan guarantee. Kiewit Energy and Burns & McDonnell were chosen as the project’s engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contractor to conduct the FEED study.

Culver answered questions related to the number of construction jobs, use of Illinois coal, permanent jobs both at the TEC and in support of coal mining, and the power distribution from the plant. The facility is estimated to create 2,500 jobs at peak construction, use 2.5 million tons annually of Illinois coal, and provide enough electricity to meet the needs of 500,000 homes in the region.

Culver informed the group that the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency has scheduled a public meeting at Taylorville High School for October 21 on Christian County Generation’s request for an air quality permit extension, which is needed to conform to the legislative calendar for review of the facility cost report.