ST. LOUIS — The Energy Department unveiled its blueprint Wednesday for spending up to $1.3 billion on multiple clean-coal power plants that would capture carbon emissions and permanently store them underground.
The announcement, launching two weeks of public comment over the revised plan for the project known as FutureGen, came despite pledges by U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin to scuttle the effort. The Democrat stands convinced a town in his home state of Illinois deserved the project — all of it.
FutureGen's developers — an alliance of a dozen big power and coal companies — tapped Mattoon, Ill., as the site in December. But the Energy Department quickly pulled the plug, citing costs that had ballooned to $1.8 billion, nearly double the original price tag.
Energy Dept. unveils retooled plans for clean coal plants
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