However, it is not to be.

Nebraska company Tenaska has dropped plans to build the $3.5 billion power plant, saying it will focus on developing natural gas-fuelled and renewable facilities elsewhere.

According to St Louis Post-Dispatch, Tenaska says the plant that was to be in the Christian County town of Taylorville, is no longer viable, partly because lawmakers did not agree to a 30-year contract to buy power from the plant.

The paper says Tenaska also believes increasing supplies and lower costs of natural gas and renewable energy also affected its decision.

“We take a conservative approach to development, working to ensure projects will have a long-term market for their power before we begin construction,” Tenaska president of development Dave Fiorelli said.

He added the market was “in need of natural gas-fuelled and renewable electric generating facilities”

The company had been pursuing the project for more than five years but the plan faced strong opposition from Exelon Corp – Illinois’ largest electricity provider.

Manufacturers also said large businesses would have to pay more.

As originally envisaged, the project would have turned the coal to synthetic gas and then used that gas to fire a power plant.

This would allow much of the carbon dioxide and other pollutants to be stripped prior to combustion.

Under a revised proposal released last year Tenaska planned to only move ahead with the part of the plant that would burn natural gas for electricity.