Dive Brief:
- The Obama Administration has closed down development of FutureGen 2.0, a clean coal facility planned for construction in Illinois during the Bush administration.
- Funding was set to expire in September, and the federal government determined there was no longer sufficient time to complete the facility.
- Crain's Chicago Business reports the federal government spent about $200 million on development of the project, out of a budgeted $1 billion.
Dive Insight:
The FutureGen 2.0 clean coal facility was in development for more than ten years and had survived other attempts to kill it off, but President Obama has finally pulled the plug after determining there was no time to complete the project before funding ran out later this year.
According to a statement published by Crain's, FutureGen Alliance CEO Ken Humphreys said the Department of Energy "directed the suspension of FutureGen 2.0 project development activities. The DOE has concluded that there is insufficient time to complete the project before federal funding expires in September 2015.”
The plant would have used carbon capture and storage technology and had a projected cost of about estimated $1.7 billion, with Illinois consumers picking up $700 million. The plant was slated to come online in 2017.
