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Backers of coal gasification plant say study shows its benefits
BY ERIK POTTER, POST-DISPATCH SPRINGFIELD BUREAU
MAY 16, 2007 – SPRINGFIELD, ILL. - Proponents of "clean coal" technology are touting a new study that predicts many new jobs and a huge boost to the economy of the southern half of the state from a proposed state-of-the-art coal gasification plant.
The $3 billion plant in Taylorville would convert high-sulfur Illinois coal into a cleaner, synthetic gas and then burn that gas to produce electricity,
releasing less pollution than a traditional coal power plant.
Taylorville and other former coal mining areas downstate have been devastated in recent decades by federal environmental regulations that made the state's high-sulfur coal difficult to market. State officials — who are backing millions in startup loans for the private venture — say coal gasification could be a savior to the region by making Illinois coal usable again.
The project is "vital for Illinois' struggling coal industry," Phil Gonet, president of the Illinois Coal Association, said in a written statement.
"For the future economic development of our state, it is critical that this plant be built."
The plant, which would not be operational until 2012 at the earliest, would use 1 million to 2 million tons of Illinois coal each year. That level of coal use would generate $78.5 million a year in economic activity and more than 400 jobs, according to a study conducted by Northern Illinois University.
Proponents of the plant also bill it as at least a partial solution to the state's electricity rate issue.
"Coal gasification … has the potential to be a win for the consumer," said Susanne Hack, spokeswoman for the Citizens Utility Board, an Illinois advocacy group.
The group estimates that the plant would produce cheaper electricity than the rates secured from traditional power plants in a state-run reverse auction last fall.
"Already we see the market is ripe for this new type of energy production,"
Hack said.
Gov. Rod Blagojevich has included a 10-year plan for the construction of 10 coal gasification plants in his proposed capital budget. The Taylorville plant is the only plant under consideration that would use coal gas to produce electricity rather than to produce fertilizer, diesel fuel or natural gas substitutes.
The plant would be the first industrial-scale coal gasification plant in the world.
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