Taylorville Coal Plant Supporters See Progress
by TONY REID, DECATUR HERALD-REVIEW

April 3, 2008 – TAYLORVILLE -- A $2.5 billion clean coal-burning power station in Taylorville is edging closer to being a done deal, backers of the project said Wednesday night.

But the push is on now to get Illinois lawmakers to sign off on legislation to sanction the project by May 2, the deadline for qualifying for tens of millions of dollars in federal subsidies. Bill Braudt, general manager of business development for Nebraska-based Tenaska Inc., which would run the plant, believes an agreement can be reached by the deadline. "It's way closer now, we're down to the final substantive issues," he said, speaking at meeting hosted at Taylorville Memorial Hospital. "It can be done by May 2." Tenaska has been battling to get this project up and running for some 18 months.

At issue are the terms and conditions for long-term power contracts, which the company says power companies must sign to make the project feasible. Other issues center on greenhouse gas control. The plant, which would turn coal into clean-burning gas, is now struggling to work out a deal with the state to capture carbon dioxide emissions and store them. These are among the concerns raised by the Illinois Attorney General, Lisa Madigan, and Michael Madigan, D-Chicago, the speaker of the Illinois House. Commenting earlier Wednesday, the attorney general's office said negotiations over the long-term contracts and greenhouse emissions were going well.

Benjamin Weinberg, chief of the public interest division for the office, said they wanted the Taylorville agreement to create legislation that would set guidelines for similar projects. "We're trying to come up with a system that will really advance clean-coal technology, and that won't just be a one-off deal," added Weinberg. "The attorney general doesn't only want Tenaska to build a clean-coal plant, she wants other companies to be a le to build them, too." Weinberg said that meant making sure customers were treated fairly in power contracts and the problems of greenhouse gasses were resolved.

A spokesman for the speaker's office, Steve Brown, also said negotiations were continuing, but he wouldn't be drawn into venturing how much talking lay ahead. "Hard to say," he added. "I don't tend to do predictions on these kinds of things." Wednesday's meeting in Taylorville, attended by about 100 people, was hosted by the Christian County Economic Development Corp. and the Greater Taylorville Chamber of Commerce, keen supporters of the project. At one point, Braudt, asked what ordinary citizens could do to help, replied: "A little prayer wouldn't hurt."

Tony Reid can be reached at treid@herald-review.com or (217) 421-7977.
----------

<<< back