Dupage Policy Journal

U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) said Tuesday that the U.S. Department of Energy canceling $1 million in federal funding associated with the FutureGen project will prove detrimental to the state and environmentalism.

"The secretary of energy informed me that because the FutureGen Alliance was unable to secure the private financing necessary to meet the conditions of the project, the Department of Energy has been forced to end their participation," Durbin said. "This is a huge disappointment for both central Illinois and supporters of clean coal technology."

Durbin said the Department of Energy had to cancel the funding for the project because of FutureGen Alliance’s inability to reach an agreement with private partners.

The money would have been used as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

Durbin said the project relied heavily on private funding.

"I worked on FutureGen 2.0 believing it would create jobs in Illinois and demonstrate a viable environmentally acceptable use of coal to generate electricity," Durbin said.

During the course of the project, the senator has sought to ensure federal funding is protected through a private contribution put together by the FutureGen Alliance.