© 2024 NPR Illinois
The Capital's Community & News Service
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Durbin Talks FutureGen With Energy Secretary

Bill Wheelhouse/WUIS

U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin says he met with Secretary of Energy Ernest Moniz to discuss the FutureGen clean-coal project.  

Durbin said in a news release that he met with Moniz on Wednesday to discuss the department's commitment to the long-planned public-private project. Durbin said he stressed the importance he sees in keeping it on track.  

The department is providing $1 billion to the $1.68 billion project.  

The plan calls for capturing carbon dioxide from a coal-burning power plant in the Morgan County village of Meredosia. The carbon dioxide would then be injected into underground wells near Jacksonville, about 20 miles to the east and stored.  

Carbon dioxide is considered a greenhouse gas that contributes to climate change.  

FutureGen earlier this year secured one of its final needed federal approvals.
 

Bill is a former general manager, economy reporter, Harvest correspondent and Statehouse Bureau Chief for NPR Illinois. He has won several awards including the Associated Press Best Investigative Reporter.
The Associated Press is one of the largest and most trusted sources of independent newsgathering, supplying a steady stream of news to its members, international subscribers and commercial customers. AP is neither privately owned nor government-funded; instead, it's a not-for-profit news cooperative owned by its American newspaper and broadcast members.
Related Stories