Springfield, Ill.-Neighboring Illinois and Indiana are shaping up as the leaders in putting to use the latest coal gasification technology, which could help alleviate the natural gas shortage and produce chemicals for fertilizer and other products. Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich recently unveiled a comprehensive long-term energy plan for his state to end dependence on foreign oil by investing in development and encouraging use of biofuels, and spending $775 million over the next 10 years to help build up to 10 new coal gasification plants. The governor’s plan would ensure that by 2017 25 percent of the natural gas consumed in Illinois would come from Illinois coal, found under 37,000 square miles and containing more energy than the oil reserves of Saudi Arabia and Kuwait combined. In fact, Illinois has 38 billion tons of recoverable coal, accounting for 12 percent of all coal in the U.S. Because of these advantages, two Illinois sites were included on the list of finalists for the Department of Energy’s clean-coal FutureGen project. Duke Energy Indiana and Vectren Energy Delivery of Indiana also expect to take advantage of abundant coal supplies in the Midwest to operate a 600-megawatt power plant that will use advanced integrated gasification combined cycle technology. According to utility officials, permit applications have been filed with state regulators for the plant at Edwardsport, Ind., which would be the first new commercial-scale IGCC plant built in the U.S. in 10 years. Planners are conducting preliminary engineering and design work, which will be completed during the second quarter in 2007; a final decision on whether to build the plant will be made in the third quarter of 2007. “We continue to review the economics related to the project and hope to make a decision whether or not to proceed with building the plant next year. If we proceed with the project, construction could begin as early as mid-2007,” said Duke Energy Indiana President Kay Pashos.
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