The money, which will be made available through earmarked funds in the US House of Representatives’ Energy and Water Development appropriations bill for next year, will also allocate an additional $US257 million for future years.
The US Department of Energy (DoE) and FutureGen Industrial Alliance, according to the St. Louis Business Journal, should be completing project parameters and funding by the end of 2005. Once that milestone has been met, the groups will then announce invitations for proposal submission to states interested in hosting the project.
FutureGen is a 275MW facility that plans to utilize coal-based technology for the world’s first near-zero emissions plant. Industry forces including BHP, Consol and Peabody are a few of the seven owners that have come together to spearhead the effort.
