Press Release of Senator Lugar Lugar Announces DOE to Invest Approximately $1.3 Billion to Commercialize CCS Technology Tuesday, June 24, 2008 U.S. Sen. Dick Lugar announced today that the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) will invest $1.3 billion in multiple commercial-scale Integrated Gasification Combined Cycle (IGCC) or other clean coal power plants with cutting-edge carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology under DOE’s restructured FutureGen program.    The solicitation is seeking multiple cost-shared projects to advance coal-based power generation technologies that capture and store the carbon dioxide (CO2).  DOE anticipates $290 million will be available for funding of selected projects through Fiscal Year 2009 and an additional $1.01 billion is expected to be available in subsequent years.   “Ninety-five percent of Indiana electricity comes from coal-fired generation facilities. Making these facilities cleaner could lead to significant improvements to our state’s economy, the health of our residents, and the quality of our air and water,” said Lugar.    DOE announced a restructured approach to its FutureGen project on January 30, 2008, to facilitate technological research and development advancements in CCS technology achieved over the past five years.  According to DOE, this approach responds to the changing market conditions for clean coal technology, as well as efforts to limit taxpayer exposure and maximize the federal government's investment in this cutting-edge technology.  The restructured approach aims to accelerate the deployment of advanced clean coal technology by equipping new IGCC or other clean coal commercial power plants with CCS technology in the near future.    By funding multiple projects the DOE expects to at least double the amount of CO2 sequestered compared to the amount under the concept announced in 2003.  When these plants are operational, they will be the cleanest coal-fired power plants in the world, each capturing and storing an expected 1 million metric tons of carbon dioxide per year.   For more information on the proposal, please refer to http://www.grants.gov.   Questions regarding the grants process in general may be directed to Andrew Mills, Grants Coordinator for Senator Lugar, by phone at 202-224-4814 or by email at grants@lugar.senate.gov.   ###