FutureGen, Energy Department reach new plant deal

MATTOON -- U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin says the companies planning to build the experimental FutureGen power plant in east-central Illinois have reached an agreement with the Department of Energy to continue developing the project.

Durbin says the power and coal companies and the department will work between now and March on new cost estimates and design details for the project in Mattoon.

Earlier this year, the cost was estimated at $2.4 billion. The federal government has said it would cover more than $1 billion of that.

The companies are known as the FutureGen Alliance. They're meeting in Mattoon this week.

The plant would use coal to produce power but remove the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide from the coal and store it underground.