The boost would come from new spending, job creation and induced economic activity over three decades of operation.
Prairie State would be sited in Washington County and is a planned 1,500 megawatt electric generation facility that would be fuelled by more than 6 million tons of coal produced each year from an adjacent underground mine.
"We know from multiple studies that increasingly clean electricity from coal drives down energy costs, creates twice the economic benefits as natural gas, and helps Americans live longer and better," Peabody executive vice president of corporate development Roger Walcott Jr said.
"Prairie State will be among the cleanest coal-fueled plants east of the Mississippi River, providing low-cost electricity and accelerating economic growth."
