Clean Burn Coal Plant a Taxpayer Fiasco

In just three days, reports concerning the potential “New Age" power plant have had all these stories and more reported concerning the build of this plant. The state of the art power facility, using the latest, untested technology will be able to burn coal without emitting any carbon dioxide gases into the atmosphere. One of the problems with the concept, besides the fact the concept hasn’t been tested before, is that the CO2 gases will be injected into the ground for permanent storage. What will be the long term effects of such quantities of the dangerous gas being underground? That will be left for another generation to worry about. This generation of utility companies making money all the while being subsidized by taxpayers is just too important to worry about things that won’t rear their ugly heads for decades.

Like the steel mills and refineries spewing smell and soot into the skies for decades. Like the nuclear power plant operators driving around spent nuclear material looking for a place to keep them safe for a million years, it appears we are about to leave another collateral damage scenario for an idea that only makes sense if you have a vested stake in the build of the plant.     

In a remarkable example of government spending going awry, the costs of the new plant have already doubled from the estimate just five years ago when the idea was presented to Congress. What is remarkable about this overrun is the price of building the plant has doubled and the first shovel of dirt hasn’t even been turned over.

Originally this plant was estimated to cost $985 million dollars. Basically twice what a conventional coal fired plant would run. The costs were high so power companies told Congress they could only afford the build if it was taxpayer supported. Congress, never one to pass on a pork project, approved funding of 75% of the project with the utility companies paying the other 25%.

It looked good on the legislator’s resumes that they were supporting a “green friendly" power plant that would save the ozone layer. No one questioned that once the plant was done it would solely belong to the power companies technically leaving taxpayers with a $700 million bad debt. There wasn’t even a stipulation made in the agreement that residents would receive a better price on the energy provided since they helped to pay for it. Not a bad deal for the utility companies is it. But there’s more.

First, the latest estimates for building the plant have now soared to $1.8 billion dollars and like I said it hasn’t even had the ground breaking ceremony yet. Secondly, there is no promise that this new cost will hold during the build. Maybe it will be almost $2 billion. Maybe it will cost more. The utilities can’t determine for sure and since they have a blank check in their pocket from U.S. taxpayers, they really aren’t that worried about costs.

They are worried about a few bureaucrats who might be asking too many damaging questions to the project’s worth and costs and long term effects on the environment.

The Department of Energy has stated they haven’t given the green light to the location yet. Preliminary studies show the area, near Mattoon Illinois is probably all right for receiving thousands of tons of gases buried in its soil. But no one knows what that will mean years from now and they want to think about this a little longer. I imagine five years wasn’t enough time.

Secondly Congress is starting to ask why the bill for the plant keeps going up when nothing has been started. I suppose they can ask that same question about just about anything they approve that doesn’t come with a cap on spending.

And so in Illinois we have had an announcement that we will be getting a new power plant that will bring two thousand news jobs into the area. Unless the plant isn’t built, that is. Unless the plant starts costing too much and the build is scrapped somewhere after the start.

One, last, amazing bit of information. Illinois, as part of their agreement, has agreed to indemnify the utility companies against lawsuits just in case the carbon dioxide ever seeps out of the ground. That means the state will be on the hook for not only lawsuits but any hazardous cleanup costs later on when the untested technology falls flat.

So we have utility companies positioned to have a new power plant paid for by taxpayers and if it doesn’t work out or ends up to be dangerous technology, taxpayers will pay to clean up the mistakes. A sweet deal if you can get it.

It looks like the utility companies have gotten into our wallets again and all we have in return are the warnings from power providers that due to high costs we all have to pay more for our energy.

Maybe carbon dioxide shouldn’t be buried in the ground in Mattoon. Maybe the plans for this boondoggle should be buried instead.

Comment by Mike Fak^(17,924) (146 days 21 hours ago.)