ICC Sets Hearings on FutureGen Project

JACKSONVILLE — The public will have a chance to comment on FutureGen 2.0 plans to transport and store carbon-dioxide at a site in northeast Morgan County during a public hearing scheduled later this month in Jacksonville.
Comments also will be taken online, by phone and through email, according to an announcement by the Illinois Commerce Commission. The ICC is hosting the hearing scheduled for 7 p.m., Thursday, March 27 in the council chambers on the second floor of City Hall, 200 W. Douglas Ave.
“The public hearing is part of the review process,” ICC spokeswoman Beth Bosch said in an email. “Public comments are filed in the case and considered by commissioners.”
Commissioners last month approved construction of the 30-mile pipeline between Meredosia, on the Illinois River 20 miles west of Jacksonville, and the storage site. A retrofitted former Ameren coal plant at Meredosia would supply the CO2 for storage.
The 10-to-12-inch diameter pipe would be buried at depths of four to five feet. FutureGen developers estimate 1 million metric tons of carbon would be stored annually for 30 years.
Bosch said the case remains in its early stages and commissioners have not set a deadline on the review process.
The U.S. Department of Energy has committed $1 billion toward the $1.68 billion cost of FutureGen 2.0. Members of the FutureGen Alliance, a consortium of energy companies, are aiming toward the start of construction in 2014.
A Sierra Club lawsuit seeking to block the project is pending in federal court in Springfield.

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If you think you may be affected by the FutureGen 2.0 Project and/or are interested in a free consultation, contact our eminent domain landowner attorneys at 1-888-318-3761 or visit us on the web at www.landownerattorneys.com.