FutureGen would burn coal and capture carbon dioxide produced in coal plants like this one. (Photo by Erin Toner)
The United States Department of Energy is pulling the plug on a state-of-the-art
power plant intended to demonstrate how coal could be burned cleanly. Amanda
Vinicky reports:
Transcript
The United States Department of Energy is pulling the plug on a state-of-the-art
power plant intended to demonstrate how coal could be burned cleanly. Amanda
Vinicky reports:
The FutureGen plant would burn coal without pollution by sequestering carbon
emissions underground.
President Bush called for FutureGen five years ago and repeated support for this kind of project in his
recent State of the Union speech:
“Let us fund new technologies that can generate coal power while capturing carbon emissions (applause
fade).”
But the Department of Energy says because of ballooning costs, it’s backing out.
Illinois Republican State Senator Dale Righter says it could kill the project planned
for his state:
“It was the right thing to do, in order to find new ways to produce energy using 21st
century technology. That idea is more expensive, as everyone knew it would be. But it’s still
the right thing to do.”
Congress could still salvage the FutureGen project.
For the Environment Report, I’m Amanda Vinicky.