Six ET counties seeking FutureGen
Rusk looking at southern site, Gregg opts out
By BRENDA ALLUMS news1@kilgorenewsherald.com

Five East Texas counties have submitted proposals for locating a virtually pollution-free power and electricity generating plant in the region.

Gregg County was not one of the five. Counties submitting proposals include Harrison, Henderson, Rusk and Anderson. Smith and Cherokee counties submitted a joint proposal.

Rick Keeling, a member of the committee that put together the Rusk County proposal, said they are recommending a site in south Rusk County.

John Stroud, executive director of Longview Economic Development Corporation (LEDCO) said Gregg County didn’t have a site that met the criteria.

Wednesday was the deadline for regional proposal submission.

Of the 24 councils of governments (COG) in Texas, 18 has indicated an interest in submission proposals for the FutureGen Project, a billion-dollar energy project.

Luke Kimbrough, economic development manager for the East Texas Council of Government (ETCOG) said he felts only four or five of those would actually submit proposals, including ETCOG.

“I feel that at the most four or five COGs will submit proposals to the state and of that about three will rise to the top,” he said.

Kimbrough said he feels East Texas has a “really good” chance at landing the project.

“The five proposals we’ve received look really good and the sites look great,” he said.

Kimbrough said he feels the stiffest competition for East Texas will come from North Texas near Wichita Falls and an area near the Rio Grande in South Texas.

“The biggest deciding factor will be which site has the best place to sequester the carbon dioxide produced by the plant or someone to purchase it,” he said. “With all the oil and gas activity in East Texas we feel this area will have a better chance.”

The nest step is for the ETCOG Site Selection Committee to review the proposals.

“We’re mailing out copies tooth committee members today (Tuesday),” he said.

Then on Dec. 15, the committee will meet in Marshall to heard presentations from representatives of the five counties and score the proposals.

Once the committee makes its decision, the proposal will be forwarded to the ETCOG Executive Committee on Dec. 16 for its seal of approval.

Judging criteria include accessibility to utilities and transportation, local support, adequate water supply, availability of land and fuel flexibility.

“Then we will start putting together our presentation to take to Austin,” Kimbrough said.

The proposals are due in Austin by Jan 9.

“Hopefully, we’ll have a decision by the end of January or first of February,” he said.

Then the process will begin with again with the Texas proposal competing against those from the other states. The actual site award is expected to take place late next year.

Sponsored by the Department of Energy, FutureGen will be the world’s first near-zero emissions fossil fuel energy facility. Designed as both a power plant and a research laboratory, FutureGen will generate electricity, produce hydrogen and capture and sequester carbon dioxide.

FutureGen is a $1 billion federal initiative to design, build and operate a 275-megawatt energy facility that produces electricity and hydrogen with near zero emissions.

The prototype plant will establish the technical and economic feasibility of producing electricity and hydrogen from coal (the lowest cost and most abundant domestic energy resource), while capturing and sequestering the carbon dioxide generated in the process. The initiative will be a government/ industry partnership to pursue an innovative ‘showcase’ project focused on the design, construction and operation of a technically cutting-edge power plant that is intended to eliminate environmental concerns associated with coal utilization. This will be a ‘living prototype’ with future technology innovations incorporated into the design as needed, according to the Department of Energy.