For Release: Monday, October 1, 2007
Contact: David Gillies: 202-225-5661

U.S. CONGRESSMAN JERRY COSTELLO PARTICIPATES IN GROUNDBREAKING FOR NEW PRAIRIE STATE ENERGY CAMPUS

Lively Grove - On Monday, October 1, 2007 U.S. Congressman Jerry Costello (D-IL) participated, with local and state elected officials and community leaders, in the groundbreaking ceremonies for the new Prairie State Energy Campus.

The Prairie State Energy Campus will be a 1,600 megawatt coal-fueled power plant near Lively Grove. It will be among the cleanest coal-fueled plants, with emissions projected to be approximately 80% lower than existing U.S. power plants.

“If we are to break our dependence on foreign sources of oil, we must capitalize on our domestic energy assets, and coal is our most abundant energy resource,” said Costello. “This project will show that we can utilize Illinois coal, which is good for the environment and the economy.”

Coal underlies 65 percent of Illinois' surface and the Illinois coal industry annually produces approximately 35 million tons of coal and generates more than $1 billion in gross revenues. Currently, recoverable coal reserves in the state amount to more than 30 billion tons. Illinois has almost one-eighth of the coal reserves in the United States and one-quarter of the nation's bituminous coal reserves. Illinois' coal reserves contain more BTU's than the oil reserves of Saudi Arabia and Kuwait.

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