Carbondale Bytelife

That was fast. Announced as a go on December 18th, it looks like the plug is getting pulled on the FutureGen project. Ostensibly the reason is cost of the project but Senator Durbin and Congressmen Tim Johnson and John Shimkus say the Department Of Energy never mentioned costs until Mattoon was chosen as the site for the project over Texas. Estimated costs of the project have increased from around $800 million when it was announced in 2003 to about $1.3 billion today. The plant is/was expected to create about 3,000 construction jobs, 150 permanent jobs and bring about $100 into the local economy.

Update: Apparently Texas is still in the running for a piece of the deconstructed FutureGen project if the DOE goes ahead with its plans

Labels: Energy, southern Illinois