Odessa Makes Final FutureGen Offer
Senator Kel Seliger, R-Amarillo, who authored Senate Bell 1461 which included the state’s final incentive package for FutureGen and addressed key liability issues, recently announced that Texas’ best and final offer has been submitted to the FutureGen Alliance.
Seliger, in recognizing the hard work and dedication of the Odessa Future Gen team, said, “They have submitted an excellent proposal and we are confident the Odessa site bid will showcase Texas’ energy expertise, particularly in the long-term storage and transportation of carbon dioxide and the use of hydrogen by the petrochemical industry.”
The state’s final incentive package was made possible by the passage of SB 1461 in June 2007, which addressed key concerns raised by the Alliance regarding the operation of FutureGen.
Seliger said, “This comprehensive clean coal legislation provides the legislative authority for the Governor to enter into a contract with the Alliance, and offers the Alliance the strongest package of incentives possible for locating the project in Texas.”
Senate Bill 1461 also provides the Alliance long-term liability protection for CO2 injection because the state of Texas will take ownership of the gas and arrange for the construction, operation, maintenance and monitoring of CO2 pipelines and monitoring programs.
It also gives the Alliance indemnity, since the Railroad Commission of Texas will take ownership of the CO2 at the FutureGen gate, acquiring the right, title and interest in the CO2 and hold the owner/operator harmless.
There are also case law safeguards, since Texas has a 30-year history of safely and permanently storing large volumes of CO2 in subsurface injections.
The Odessa site is among four finalists in the national competition to host FutureGen. The other finalists are in Jewett, Texas and two in Illinois. The Alliance is expected to announce the winning site by the end of 2007.
FutureGen is a $1.5 billion initiative to build the world’s first near-zero emissions fossil fuel energy facility. Co-sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy and the FutureGen Alliance, FutureGen will gasify coal to generate electricity and produce hydrogen and capture and store carbon dioxide. The technologies demonstrated, refined and commercialized at this prototype power plant will lead to the deployment of similar clean energy facilities throughout the world – and help to shape the global energy future.
(Editor’s Note: The foregoing material is from a press release from Senator Seliger’s office.)