News Release, Kansas Geological Survey, Feb. 26, 2004
LAWRENCE--The U.S. Department of Energy plans to build the world's first coal-fired, zero emission electric power plant, and state energy stakeholders will meet next week in Lawrence to learn more about the $1 billion project, called FutureGen, and what it will take to bring it to Kansas.
The "FutureGen in Kansas" meeting will be held March 5, from 1:00 to 5:00 p.m., at the Kansas Geological Survey, based at the University of Kansas. The meeting, which is open to the public, is sponsored by the State Energy Resources Coordination Council (SERCC), a 13-member group charged by the Governor with studying and reporting on the state's energy situation. The council is chaired by Lee Allison, state geologist and KGS director.
"Whatever state gets the FutureGen project is going to be at the forefront of 21st century energy production," said Allison. "This meeting is just the first step to see how much interest there is in putting together a team to bring FutureGen to Kansas."
The 275-megawatt FutureGen power plant will employ cutting-edge technology and serve as a large-scale engineering laboratory for testing new clean power, carbon dioxide capture, and coal-to-hydrogen technologies.
One of the features that sets FutureGen apart from other power plants is the capability to capture carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases that are normally vented to the atmosphere. These emissions will then be injected deep underground into geologic reservoirs, where they will be permanently isolated, or sequestered, from the atmosphere. The power plant will also release no other pollutants to the atmosphere.
"Kansas is host to one of only three projects in the nation where greenhouse gases are currently being captured from an atmospheric vent and geologically sequestered. We think this technical leadership will give Kansas a tremendous advantage in competing for the FutureGen project," said Allison.
The meeting will be held in Hambleton Auditorium at the KGS and will begin with a series of short presentations on FutureGen, some of its technical features, what makes Kansas competitive, and what other states are already doing. The second half will be devoted to an open discussion of what it will take for Kansas to compete successfully for the project.
Additional information about the meeting, parking, and how to get to the Kansas Geological Survey is available at the Kansas Energy Information Network web site (http://www.kansasenergy.org/sercc.htm).