Law enables development of first clean coal power plant as clean as natural gas

The Illinois Senate today passed SB 1987, the Clean Coal Portfolio Standard legislation, which will enable development of coal gasification with carbon capture and storage projects in Illinois including the Taylorville Energy Center.

Developed closely with Attorney General Lisa Madigan’s office, SB 1987 provides a framework for the development of “clean coal” projects and requires project developers to capture and store more than 50% of the carbon dioxide, thus making coal plants at least as clean as natural gas, the cleanest fossil fuel in the world.

Taylorville Energy Center managing partner Tenaska noted that the project has received a final air permit from the Illinois EPA which enables it to become the “initial clean coal facility” under the legislation. Since receiving the air permit on June 6, 2007, the project has undergone important design changes to dramatically improve environmental and economic performance. Benefits of the new design include:

• Production of both electricity and substitute natural gas will enable sales of natural gas to serve as a price hedge against electric costs
• Coal fueled electric generation as clean as natural gas with more than 50% carbon capture, among the first coal plants anywhere to meet this standard
• Significant improvement in the removal of pollutants – sulfur dioxide (SO₂), particulates, nitrogen oxide (NO_X) and mercury

Development of the project will bring with it billions of dollars in economic development, thousands of jobs and the ability to finally use high-sulfur Illinois coal in an environmentally responsible way.

“We want to thank Senators Deanna Demuzio (D-Carlinville), Frank Watson (R-Decatur), Donne Trotter (D-Chicago), Kwame, Raoul (D-Chicago) and Senate President Emil Jones (D-Chicago), who led the effort to secure Senate passage of the legislation,” said Tenaska Vice President Bart Ford.