EFFINGHAM - Imagine a coal powered electrical plant serving 150,000 homes without creating air pollution.

Effingham Mayor Bob Utz can, and he's imagining it for his city. Utz held a news conference Thursday to outline Effingham's plans for pursuing a 275-megawatt, $1 billion, coal-fueled, zero emissions power plant.

FutureGen, a joint project between countries as diverse as India, China, Britain, France and the United States, is looking for a place to build a power plant that would use coal to generate electricity while capturing and permanently storing carbon dioxide from the production in underground geological formations.

The federal government plans to invest $700 million in this project and partner companies, which include Peabody Coal, American Electric Power, CONSOL Energy Inc. and Foundation Coal Co., plan to invest $250 million to help fund the project.

Illinois, along with Texas, Ohio, and Kentucky have all been identified as potential sites for the plant. Other Illinois communities being evaluated are Coles County, Tuscola and Marshall. The communities are working with the Illinois Office of Coal Development to fine-tune their pitches for the power plant.

"If any of the Illinois sites are chosen, a pioneer project of this magnitude will have such a far-reaching impact that Coles County will undoubtedly accrue many indirect benefits" said Steve Grissom, chairman of the Coles Together board of directors.

"While the interest in meeting energy demands and reducing greenhouse gases may be global, it's exciting to be part of a candidate list that is local," Grissom added.

Meanwhile, Utz thinks Effingham stands a good shot at winning the site race.

"We have what they say they need," Utz said. "They asked for major highways, we have that. They need 3.6 million gallons of water a day but they can use non-potable water. We can do that between our treated waste water and water available through the Holland Regional Water Company."

Utz said the Effingham area is a good place for a plant like FutureGen because it sits on the Mount Simon elevation, a geological formation that would store carbon dioxide in the earth.

Three sites will be identified by 2007 with a final choice made by 2009. Construction, requiring an estimated 1,000 workers, would take three years, and the final plant would employ 250 people.

Utz said land for the project had been identified north of Effingham but adjacent to the city for easy annexation. He said the city, along with help from the state would probably purchase the land and offer it, along with the tax benefits of an enterprise zone, to FutureGen.

"We have another two weeks to get our proposal together," Utz said. "It's a big, big project and is requiring a lot of work."

Utz said the city had been answering questions about infrastructure for this type of development for several months but had only learned the specifics in the last two weeks.

"It's like playing a blind game of tennis," he said. "We're hitting the ball back and not sure where it is going."

INFORMATIONALMEETINGS

Public meetings on the project have been scheduled. They include:

- 6 p.m. Tuesday, April 18, at the Tuscola Community Center.

- 5 to 7 p.m. Thursday, April 20, at the Effingham Civic Center.

- 6 to 8 p.m. Monday, April 24, at Riddle Elementary School in Mattoon.

Sharon Mosley may be reached at sharonhrnews@yahoo.com.