The FutureGen concept, announced in 2003, planned the creation of a near-zero emissions, 275-megawatt power plant that produced hydrogen and electricity from coal. The FutureGen Alliance, a group of utilities and coal companies from around the world and funded by the DoE, was formed to design and test technology to gasify coal, strip the harmful emissions, and burn it to produce electricity and hydrogen. DoE would bear 75% of costs for the project, originally estimated at $1.5 billion, while the FutureGen Alliance would fund the other 25%.

During December, the alliance announced that they had selected Mattoon, Illinois, USA, as the new home for FutureGen. The announcement capped a two-year process that included cost analyses, plant designs, site selection, and environmental impact statements. The DoE did not immediately approve the site, citing high costs. During December, FutureGen Alliance CEO Micahel Mudd said he did not know why the DoE had not issued a Record of Decision, but every month of delay was costing the project an additional $10 million. Inflationary pressures had already pushed the project’s total cost to $1.8 billion. Just prior to the Mattoon-announcement, DoE advised Mudd that it would not issue the Record of Decision. On January 29, the DoE held a press conference where it unveiled a “restructured approach to its FutureGen project that aims to demonstrate cutting-edge carbon capture and storage technology at multiple commercial-scale Integrated Gasification Combined Cycle clean coal power plants.” The press conference created more questions than it answered. An Illinois congressional delegation appealed to President Bush to reconsider DoE’s decision to abandon FutureGen.