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Gov. Blagojevich Thanks Broad Coalition for Contributing to Illinois' Effort to Win FutureGen

Site Selection in Years-Long Nationwide Bid to Host Innovative Clean-Coal Project Expected Tuesday

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[December 17, 2007]  SPRINGFIELD -- With just days left until the final site for the FutureGen project is announced, Gov. Rod R. Blagojevich made a final push Sunday for Illinois' bid to secure the first-of-its-kind clean-coal project. In addition to increasing Illinois' status as a national leader in clean-coal research and development, FutureGen's impact on economic development and job creation will be significant, providing hundreds of jobs for Illinois and continuing revitalization of the coal industry.

Blagojevich, the Illinois congressional delegation, and state and local partners across Illinois have been working for more than four years to bring the $1.4 billion FutureGen project to Mattoon or Tuscola. In an open letter from the governor to the people of central Illinois, he thanked everyone who played a role in the effort to secure the landmark project.

"With the final site decision for FutureGen set for next Tuesday, I want to thank the people of central Illinois, and specifically the communities of Mattoon and Tuscola, their local and state elected officials, our United States congressional delegation, and members of the FutureGen for Illinois Task Force for assisting in our effort to bring this groundbreaking coal-to-energy project to Illinois. I'm optimistic that the FutureGen Alliance will recognize what we already know to be true: Illinois is the right home for a project so important to the well-being of the coal industry, the environment and the energy security of the United States," Blagojevich wrote.

FutureGen for Illinois has already secured endorsements from Wyoming, Kentucky, Pennsylvania, Indiana, Ohio, Wisconsin, West Virginia and Michigan. The coalition of states supporting Illinois' bid to secure the FutureGen project now represents three-quarters of the coal produced in the United States each year and 59 percent of the total U.S. reserves. In addition, the more than 20,000 members of the United Mine Workers of America have also announced their support for FutureGen in Illinois.

FutureGen is designed to be the cleanest fossil-fuel-fired power plant in the world. The facility will convert coal into hydrogen and electricity, while capturing and safely storing the carbon dioxide deep underground. It will lay the groundwork for developing similar plants around the country and the world, pioneering the capture, rather than release of greenhouse gases. Illinois is a coal state whose geology will maximize the transferability of FutureGen's technology.

FutureGen will produce 275 megawatts of electric power, which is enough electricity to power 150,000 homes, as well as hydrogen for fuel cell technology that will serve as the next-generation "battery" to operate everything from a computer to a car.

The FutureGen Industrial Alliance, which is developing the facility for the U.S. Department of Energy, is expected to announce its final selection from the four remaining sites on Tuesday. The two other sites are in Texas.

For more information on FutureGen, please visit www.futuregenforillinois.com.

The governor's letter reads as follows:

December 16, 2007

To the People of Central Illinois,

With the final site decision for FutureGen set for next Tuesday, I want to thank the people of Central Illinois, and specifically the communities of Mattoon and Tuscola, their local and state elected officials, our United States Congressional delegation, and members of the FutureGen for Illinois Task Force for assisting in our effort to bring this ground-breaking coal-to-energy project to Illinois. I'm optimistic that the FutureGen Alliance will recognize what we already know to be true: Illinois is the right home for a project so important to the well-being of the coal industry, the environment and the energy security of the United States.

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For the past year, you have been an integral part of a statewide effort to demonstrate that central Illinois has the ideal coal resources, geology, and infrastructure to make FutureGen a success. That is why the United Mine Workers of America International and a coalition of eight states representing more than 75 percent of U.S. coal production have endorsed Illinois' FutureGen bid, including: Indiana, Michigan, Kentucky, Ohio, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Wyoming.

The tireless effort to bring FutureGen home to Mattoon or Tuscola has been a true team effort. Members of the FutureGen for Illinois Task Force I appointed last year served as ambassadors stressing the importance of FutureGen to every corner of the state. The Illinois Congressional delegation and the Illinois state legislature worked diligently in a bipartisan fashion to ensure that FutureGen is a national and state priority. And, local elected officials and economic development teams worked hand-in-hand with the state to assemble what I believe will be the winning FutureGen proposal. Everyone who has worked so hard to bring FutureGen to Illinois should be tremendously proud.

Whether Mattoon or Tuscola is selected as the FutureGen site, the project will benefit families and communities across east central Illinois by creating 1,300 construction jobs and 150 permanent jobs. In addition to the estimated $1.5 billion investment by the federal government and the FutureGen Alliance, the State of Illinois has pledged over $80 million in grants, low cost financing and tax credits to help secure the project.

FutureGen's 'near zero-emission' coal-gasification technology holds great promise to revolutionize our nation's coal industry and ensure that coal continues to be an integral part of our energy future while reducing the greenhouse gases that cause climate change. Since the inception of this project back in 2003, we've known that Illinois must be the state to lead this charge.

Thanks to your unwavering support, we are much closer to accomplishing this goal. I look forward to celebrating what I hope will be a great victory for the State of Illinois.

Sincerely,

Rod R. Blagojevich
Governor

[Text from file received from the Illinois Office of Communication and Information]

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