MATTOON – The FutureGen Alliance is moving forward to push for construction of a $1.8 billion near-zero emissions power plant in Mattoon.

The alliance is lobbying the top three presidential candidates and opening an office in Mattoon, said Roger Gilchirst of the Future GenAlliance at Friday’s annual Coles Together meeting, held in the Education Center at Sarah Bush Lincoln Health Center.

“We intend to stay the course and be part of the community to build this plant,” Gilchrist said. “We are not going anywhere.”

Gilchrist said the alliance plans to purchase land it needs for the project.

The 400 acres of land is at the intersection of Illinois Route 121 and Dole Road in Mattoon.

The U.S. Department of Energy removed support in January for one FutureGen site, instead supporting the creation of multiple test sites around the country.

Gilchrist said the smaller plants would need five years to begin operations.

FutureGen would use coal gasification to convert coal into hydrogen and carbon dioxide. The hydrogen created would power a turbine that would create electricity. A second turbine would create electricity from the steam from the first turbine.

The proposed plant would then capture and store 90 percent of the carbon dioxide emissions in the deep geological reservoirs more than one mile underground in the Mt. Simon Sandstone reservoir.

The power plant would power 150,000 homes off the 175 megawatts produced.

FutureGen has brought much publicity to the county bringing future development, said Angela Griffin, president of Coles Together.

“We’re unlocking contacts in the industry,” she said.

Also at the meeting, Stephen Johnson, founder and president of American Clean Coal fuels in Portland, Ore., said the Illinois Clean Fuels project set for Oakland would use coal gasification to create synthetic diesel and jet fuel.

Coal used in the plant would be from a local mine.

Johnson said the plant would also use about 25 percent biomass, eventually using more biomass material as coal supplies deplete.

The proposed plant would produce 414 million gallons of fuel a year with an expected opening date in late 2012.

“We’re on the verge of closing major financing,” Johnson said.

There would be 2 years of permit work and design before construction would begin on the $3 billion investment, he added.

The plant and the mine would employ 600 full-time workers.

Matt Hopf can be reached at 581-7945 or at mthopf@eiu.edu.