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 In letters to Sen. Barack Obama, Sen. Hillary Clinton, Sen. John
McCain, Gov. Mitt Romney, Gov. Mike Huckabee and Rep. Ron Paul, the
governor urged the presidential candidates to stand with FutureGen,
a project that has tremendous implications for the people of
Illinois and our entire country.
"As you and your fellow presidential candidates crisscross the
nation talking about the critical need to invest in innovative
technologies that clean up our environment and make the United
States less dependent on foreign sources of energy; political games
in Washington, D.C., threaten to halt the most important project to
date on the clean energy front. This week the U.S. Department of
Energy announced plans to dismantle the FutureGen project,"
Blagojevich wrote. "We're not giving up the fight to make FutureGen
a reality in Illinois. I am asking you to make it clear where you
stand on FutureGen before Illinois voters cast their ballots on Feb.
5."
After an almost five-year-long, rigorous site review process, the
FutureGen Alliance announced on Dec. 18 that Mattoon would be home
to the landmark project. The states of Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan,
Ohio, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, West Virginia and Wyoming all
supported Illinois' effort to win this project. On Nov. 30, the
Department of Energy had sent a letter reaffirming that the project
was moving forward as planned. Only after it became clear that an
Illinois site would be chosen over a Texas site, the department
suggested the project be delayed, and now that it be dismantled.
President Bush initiated FutureGen in 2003, and during his State
of the Union address earlier this week, he reiterated that
environmentally responsible energy is essential to keeping our
economy growing, and that his budget provides strong funding for
leading-edge technology, including clean coal.
FutureGen will have a near zero-emissions coal gasification
facility, which will convert coal into hydrogen and electricity,
while capturing and safely storing the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide
deep underground. The project will lay the groundwork for developing
similar plants around the country and the world, pioneering the
capture and storage of greenhouse gases.
The governor's letter reads as follows:
January 30, 2008
As you and your
fellow presidential candidates crisscross the nation talking about
the critical need to invest in innovative technologies that clean up
our environment and make the United States less dependent on foreign
sources of energy; political games in Washington, D.C. threaten to
halt the most important project to date on the clean energy front.
This week the U.S. Department of Energy announced plans to dismantle
the FutureGen project, a public-private partnership to design,
build, and operate the world's first coal-fueled, near-zero
emissions power plant in Mattoon, Illinois.
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 The fate of
FutureGen has enormous implications for the people of Illinois and
our entire country. 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.
The states of
Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, West
Virginia and Wyoming all endorsed Illinois' bid to win the FutureGen
project. The Illinois Congressional delegation and the Illinois
state legislature worked diligently in a bi-partisan fashion to
ensure that FutureGen remained a national and state priority. As
recently as November 30th, 2007, the Department of Energy reaffirmed
that the project was moving forward as planned. Then, after a
five-year competitive selection process, the FutureGen Alliance
announced on December 18th that Mattoon, Illinois would be home to
the landmark project. Only after it became clear that an Illinois
site would be chosen over two Texas sites did the Department of
Energy suggest the project be delayed and now this week, that it be
dismantled.
President Bush
initiated FutureGen in 2003. During his State of the Union Address
on Monday, President Bush reiterated that environmentally
responsible energy is essential to keeping our economy growing, and
that his budget provides strong funding for leading-edge technology,
including clean coal. But the Department of Energy's plan to reverse
course on FutureGen represents a striking contradiction to the
President's comments and a deception to the people of East Central
Illinois who spent significant time and resources competing for the
project.
We're not giving up
the fight to make FutureGen a reality in Illinois. I am asking you
to make it clear where you stand on FutureGen before Illinois voters
cast their ballots on February 5th. We look forward to hearing from
you.
Sincerely,
Rod R. Blagojevich
Governor of Illinois
[Text from file received from
the
Illinois Office of
Communication and Information]
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