More reasons to be less-than-optimistic that this thing will ever be built:
Plans for a clean-burning FutureGen power plant may drastically change, said U.S. Rep. John Shimkus, R-Collinsville, who thinks the Department of Energy's plan to restructure could mean breaking it into different sites around the country.
Shimkus said Thursday he believes downsizing and restructuring FutureGen make it more feasible.
"I'm afraid if we go as planned, we get nothing," Shimkus said Thursday in a phone interview with The News-Gazette.
"The DOE is scrambling for a way to do it with the current cost escalations," Shimkus said. "Rescoping means a lot of things. I think it could mean the ability to produce more power and sell it on the grid, (or do) limited research at one site and another aspect of the research at another site."
More links on CapFax.
Gordy,,maybe they need a Visions Committee,,that can think this thing around,,,,,and kick the tires,,,,and figure how to get a tax from all the surrounding areas to help pay to build it!
"and figure how to get a tax from all the surrounding areas to help pay to build it!"
They're already doing that - they're taxing the entire nation to build it.
I mean more local,,,like Champaign co. kicking in,,,Vermilion,,,,Shelby,,,,,well you get the idea, we would all benefit from the economice growth down there,,,.
If it had been sited in Texas the budget would have been doubled. At this point the best we can do is stall for a year and hope President Obama or President McCain does the right thing.
The previous writer is correct.Bush is having a hissie fit that he couldn't force it to Texas like the "Big Hole" supercollider
project that was never built. All that did was waste money and pull talent from the U of I. The collider should have been built
at Fermi Lab in Batavia where all the infrastructure and people were all ready assembled.
There is a solution to the Mattoon - FutureGen impass with DOE. Representative Timothy Johnson (R-Maui - late of Sidney) can just introduce legislation detaching his Illinois congressional district from the Land of Lincoln and attaching it to the Lone Star State. That would satisfy the most urgent of DOE's objections - that Mattoon ain't in Texas. Everybody is a winner and neither Tim nor Illinois would miss the 15th District. After all Tim isn't using it anyway!