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Friday, December 04, 2009
Environment - "Voices aired on Rockport gasification plant "
Updating this ILB entry from Nov. 25th, 2009, Garret Mathews of the Evansville Courier & Press reports today on Thursday's public hearing in Rockport "to allow representatives of the U.S. Department of Energy listen to public opinion and questions about a plant proposed for Spencer County that could convert coal into natural gas." Some quotes:
Bill Rosenberg is president of E3 Gasification, a Cary, N.C.-based company that is one of the developers of the project."Over a 30-year period, we believe this plant will save ratepayers over $1 billion," Rosenberg said before the forum. "We'll buy coal from area mines. Estimates are that would be 3.5 million tons a year."
Rosenberg said the project has been "warmly received by the unions and Ivy Tech. We want to invest $2 billion in a plant that is both clean and economically sound. As part of the process, we would sell byproducts such as carbon dioxide and sulfuric acid. Those things would not be emitted into the atmosphere. "
In March, Gov. Mitch Daniels hailed the $2.2 billion coal-to-gas plant as a way to use Indiana's resources and to put Hoosiers to work.
Grant Smith of Indianapolis-based Citizen Action Coalition is opposed to the project.
"Financially, it's (not a viable) project," he said before the presentation. "Wall Street won't provide the money. Utility companies don't want it because they can't get a good enough deal. The only way to get off the ground is to make the ratepayers the collateral for the loan. It's a totally anti-capitalistic approach. We have an ample supply of natural gas in this country. The cost is dropping."
Posted by Marcia Oddi on December 4, 2009 10:32 AM
Posted to Environment