In its original form, FutureGen 1.0 was described as a
great success; it had secured storage in Mattoon County IL and was praised for
the public engagement process in the community. In addition FutureGen had committed
to build industrial and public acceptance for future near-zero emission,
coal-fuelled power plants of similar design characteristics, it had also conducted
community engagement on a more local level, building project proponent teams,
identifying key stakeholders, and working with the communities to increase
public awareness and gain public acceptance.[1]  

With the restructuring of the FutureGen concept to an
oxyfuel project in a different county (150 miles west in Meredosia IL), Mattoon
withdrew its support for the storage site. The FutureGen Alliance then sought
new locations to store the CO₂ using a similar competitive process
whereby communities ‘bid’ for the storage location based on a lengthy series of
criteria developed by FutureGen.  As a
result of that process, four locations were short-listed: Douglas, Willow
Grove, Christian and Morgan Counties.

On the 28 February 2011 the
Alliance selected Morgan County due to:

• high quality geology, which is
  well suited for safe and secure long-term storage of CO₂; and
• close proximity to the
  Meredosia power plant, which simplifies pipeline routing and substantially
  reduces the project’s overall cost.

The selection of the storage
site is an important step for the FutureGen project. However, it triggers more
investigative work for the detailed geological characterisation of the site and
the US Department of Energy (DOE) must now begin its environmental review. 

Both of these undertakings will
include public hearings and opportunities for comment. Unlike Mattoon, Morgan
County was quite vocal during the site selection process; the community was split
between strong public support and opposition by some landowners. "The capital investment in the
overall project will be a significant economic boost for Morgan County and
surrounding areas, resulting in more than 1,000 construction jobs and 1,000
service sector jobs," said Kenneth K. Humphreys, chief executive officer
of the FutureGen Alliance.

FutureGen 2.0 has the potential to not only
be described as a great success but also overcome these hurdles by proving the
technologies work, garnering public acceptance and pioneering by lowering
overall costs and mitigating global climate change.