Construction has officially started for the $2.9 billion Prairie State Energy Campus in Southern Illinois. The Peabody Energy complex is the largest private capital project in the region. The 16-hundred megawatt supercritical power plant is what is called a mine-mouth power plant, designed to burn coal mined from an adjacent coal mine using the most advanced clean-coal burning technology.
GROUNDBREAKING CEREMONY
An October 1 ground-breaking ceremony at the project site near Lively Grove in Washington County was attended by Peabody officials, US Congressmen John Shimkus (R-Collinsville) and Jerry Costello (D-Belleville), as well as state and local officials and hundreds of area residents, according to a Prairie State press release.
JOBS
At peak construction, the project will produce 2,300 jobs. Hiring is already underway. Units 1 and 2 are expected to be running around 2011-2012. Once complete, the plant will produce more than 500 permanent jobs, and pump about $125 million annually into the local economy.
Project ownership is fully subscribed, the necessary permits have been lined up, major equipment is on order, and Bechtel Power Corporation is commencing full-scale construction.
STATE-OF-THE-ART CLEAN COAL TECHNOLOGY
Peabody officials say that emission rates are about 80% lower than with existing U.S. power plants. Even the carbon dioxide emission rate will be about 15% lower than the typical U.S. coal plant.
“Prairie State will enable us to provide clean, reliable electricity at stable rates for decades to come, which is a tremendous benefit to the communities we serve,” said Indiana Municipal Power Agency president and CEO Raj G. Rao. Rao’s IMPA is one of six members of the partner group that will distribute the plant’s output.
PRAIRIE STATE GOALS
“Prairie State is part of the largest build-out of clean coal plants the United States has seen in more than 25 years, at a time when capacity is becoming scarce,” said Peabody president and CEO Gregory H. Boyce. “Energy security, economic growth, and environmental solutions — the 3Es — are core to Prairie State’s model of reliable, clean generation for families from Missouri to Virginia.”
“If we are to break our dependence on foreign sources of oil, we must capitalize on our domestic energy assets, and coal is our most abundant energy resource,” said Congressman Costello. “This project will show that we can utilize Illinois coal, which is good for the environment and the economy.”
HIGH SULFUR COAL MARKET
Southern Illinois’ coal industry has suffered a substantial decline since the passage of tougher environmental standards. Power plants have switched from burning the region’s high-sulfur content coal in favor of low-sulfur Western coal. High sulfur content is believed a major factor in production of air pollution. Technological improvements including expensive scrubbers for smokestacks have helped mitigate the problem in Illinois, but still mine after mine in Southern Illinois has closed. Prairie State’s plant has been designed from the ground up to burn the local coal.
Reference:
- Illinois Coal Mining Disaster, Cherry Coal Mine, Documented in Donated Collection www.associatedcontent.com/article/350841/illinois_coal_mining_disaster_cherry.html
