SAY NO TO A NUCLEAR AUSTRALIA

Controversy as FutureGen Plans are Cancelled.

"The Energy Department on Wednesday canceled its main program for demonstrating how to use coal without adding to global warming, saying the project needed an overhaul to rein in soaring costs. The announcement ends a program started four years ago and described at the time as “one of the boldest steps our nation has taken toward a pollution-free energy future.” The program, called FutureGen, was also intended to provide hydrogen for fuel-cell cars and other uses. But the estimated cost has risen to about $1.8 billion from $1 billion, and officials feared it would increase. The department said it would start over with a new program, but that is unlikely to happen before the Bush administration leaves office."

" The FutureGen Alliance, which includes companies like Foundation Coal and Peabody Energy, says that the DOE initially agreed to contribute $800 million to the project. The DOE's share has only risen to $1.1 billion. Alliance members have also agreed to provide the DOE partial or full repayment for overruns. "The cost is manageable," the organization read. The DOE also claimed that financing such a project was inappropriate. Hardly, said the Alliance. Power plants are always financed. It also disputed the DOE's claim that the plant wouldn't be commercially viable. Not so, says the Alliance. Finally, the DOE claimed that the new projects will sequester as much carbon dioxide at a lower cost than FutureGen. "The Mattoon site as currently configured can sequester approximately 2 million tons per year," the Alliance said. The new projects aim for 1 million tons a year--or half as much. Whoever is right, the dispute seems to add to the Department of Energy's (or at least the Department as it has been configured for the last couple of years) inability to keep its mind on research. In the '90s, it kicked off an ambitious program to build hybrid cars. Japanese manufacturers weren't invited. In response, Toyota and Honda released hybrids. The DOE program was canceled. It then shifted to developing a hydrogen economy. We're still waiting on that one."

"President Bush announced in 2004 and then continually promoted a public-private venture he hoped would usher in an era of clean coal and be a cornerstone of U.S. efforts to address global warming. The FutureGen plant would have created electricity by stripping coal of harmful carbon dioxide and pumping the gas underground. The result would be power generation with zero greenhouse gas emissions. In December, Matoon Ill., was selected as the site for the coal plant. And then, on Jan. 30, Energy secretary, Samuel W Bodman pulled the plug."