Exelon to Join FutureGen Alliance

Exelon Corp. last week said it intends to join the FutureGen Alliance, a consortium developing a 275-MW integrated gasification combined cycle power plant with carbon capture in Matoon, Ill.

Chicago-based Exelon has in recent years moved away from coal-fired generation, focusing more on operating its 17 U.S. nuclear reactors—the largest nuclear fleet in the nation. It has also been actively lobbying for cap-and-trade of carbon dioxide emissions.

“Coal plays an enormously important role in our nation’s energy supply, so it is critical that we explore the most promising technologies for reducing – and even eliminating – harmful emissions at coal-fired power plants,” said John W. Rowe, Exelon chair and CEO. “The FutureGen project represents an important opportunity, here in Illinois, to leverage private and public funds and expertise to advance clean coal technologies that may one day help solve climate change.”

Rowe said that the FutureGen project would strengthen industry and government knowledge of advanced technology for producing low-carbon coal power, giving the U.S. “another domestically available tool in the fight against global warming.”

The company’s announcement to join FutureGen follows the abrupt withdrawal by major coal-burning utilities American Electric Power (AEP) and Southern Co. last year to pursue their own projects to capture and store carbon emissions. The companies left the alliance with only nine members, most of whom are multinational coal companies or foreign power companies. These include Peabody Energy Corp., BHP Billiton, Germany’s E.ON, and the China Huaneng Group.

The project has also suffered several financial setbacks. At the last estimate, project costs for FutureGen stood at about $2.4 billion, with construction expected to cost between $1.7 billion and $1.9 billion. Last June, the DOE pledged $1.073 billion to the project — $1 billion of which would come from American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 funds for carbon capture and storage (CCS) research.

The project still requires considerable private funding, however. FutureGen has indicated it would like to add several more partners to the project.

"We are extremely pleased to have one of America’s largest utilities join FutureGen. Exelon will bring significant industry support to the project and will further strengthen the Alliance team," said FutureGen Alliance Chief Executive Officer Michael Mudd in a statement Saturday. "Together, we will be in a position to deliver the next generation of low carbon energy technology to Illinois and the world."

Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn and Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill. also lauded Exelon’s decision.

Sources: Exelon, DOE, POWER, FutureGen Alliance