The FutureGen concept was announced in 2003 and led the world in low carbon coal-fired electric power development initiatives.
The initial concept of a Greenfield 275 megawatt Integrated Gasification Combined Cycle (IGCC) power plant was restructured into its present FutureGen 2.0 form in September 2010 when the US Department of Energy signed final cooperative agreements with the FutureGen Industrial Alliance and Ameren Energy Resources.
The FutureGen 2.0 project planned to retrofit and operate an existing power plant to use coal-fueled oxy-combustion technology to generate 168MWe of base load electricity.
The Alliance had signed a purchase agreement with Ameren to acquire the assets of the Meredosia Energy Centre needed for the oxy-combustion element of the project.
Norway's Sleipner carbon storage project in the North Sea has been operating since 1996 while Canada's Boundary Dam power station began operating last October, capturing carbon dioxide for enhanced oil recovery.
China's GreenGen power plant and carbon research centre was brought online in 2012, and ultimately will capture carbon dioxide for enhanced oil recovery. At full build, GreenGen could become the world's largest near-zero emissions coal plant.
Peabody Energy, a founding member of the FutureGen Alliance – the main project proponent of FutureGen with Ameren Energy Resources, Babcock and Wilcox and Air lIquide – and the only non-Chinese equity partner in GreenGen.
The Alliance, whose current members are Alpha Natural Resources, Anglo American, Joy Global, Peabody Energy and Xstrata, is a non-profit membership organisation formed to partner with the US Department of Energy (DOE) on the FutureGen Initiative.
Peabody found irony in the fact that the Obama administration's decision on the Illinois-based FutureGen initiative came just days after the National Coal Council issued its latest study calling on the Department of Energy to accelerate deployment of carbon capture and storage technology at scale for both energy and industrial applications.
The company pointed out that fossil fuels are still the backbone of the world's energy supply, providing 87% of global energy, and coal leads the way fuelling the most electricity. Notably, the NCC conducted the study at the request of the Secretary of Energy and serves as an advisor to the Secretary on matters related to coal.
Peabody Energy chairman and CEO Gregory Boyce said the Obama administration’s decision to pull the plug on $1 billion committed to America’s “signature” near-zero emissions coal-fuelled power plant “makes no sense”, especially at such a critical time for such investments in technology.
"The Administration has pledged $1 billion for advanced coal projects in China, and I urge them to support investments in the United States,” Boyce said.
“We have the knowledge to advance low-carbon technologies to commercial scale and must demonstrate our leadership and our will.”
FutureGen would be the only fully integrated CCS project in the world, though there are 22 carbon capture and storage projects in operation or construction globally, and the International Energy Agency initially called for at least 100 projects by 2020.
The FutureGen concept was initiated as part of the Clinton Administration's Vision 21 program and has enjoyed strong bipartisan Congressional support.
Yet Peabody noted that as America has contemplated how to develop FutureGen for nearly two decades, others have moved decisively forward, including Norway, Canada and China.
