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Issue: 969 Date: 3/19/2009
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St. Louis-Chicago High Speed Rail and Future Gen Could Receive Funding from Federal Stimulus Act
High-Speed Rail & Future Gen
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| Bill Houlihan, District Director for U.S. Senator Dick Durbin reviews the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act with RGCGA Public Policy Council members. |
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The St. Louis region stands to benefit from The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act through the funding of high speed rail and the FutureGen project, according to Bill Houlihan, District Director for U.S. Senator Dick Durbin. Houlihan spoke at the February 20th RCGA Public Policy Council meeting and outlined the type of projects and programs that will receive increased funding from the federal government.
The $8 billion made available through the Economic Recovery and Reinvestment Act will be awarded competitively to states to improve passenger rail service, primarily on those corridors where 110 mph service is proposed. Seven years ago, the track from Springfield to Joliet was upgraded to go 110 miles per hour, but work needs to be done in the Chicago and St. Louis metropolitan areas.
The Chicago-St. Louis high speed rail line could be the first segment of a larger Midwest network, and last week, Illinois Governor Pat Quinn and Missouri Governor Jay Nixon met to discuss the rail project and pledged to work together on obtaining federal funds. Upgrading the existing route would bring the train ride between the two cities to under four hours, making it comparable to air travel.
Future Gen is a public-private partnership between the Department of Energy and a consortium of coal producers and consumers, including St. Louis-based Peabody Coal, to build a coal-fueled near-zero emissions power plant in Mattoon, Illinois, just 130 miles east of St. Louis. The $1.8 billion plant will include technology for coal gasification, emissions controls, hydrogen production, electricity generation and carbon dioxide capture and storage - the first time these technology have been placed at one plant. The plant would provide 275 megawatts enough power for 150,000 homes.
The Recovery Act contains $1 billion for fossil energy research and development that could be directed to Future Gen, said Houlihan. However, the Department of Energy has not yet issued a Record of Decision that is necessary for FutureGen to start construction. Last week, area Congressman Jerry Costello (D-Illinois) and John Shimkus (R-Illinois) wrote a letter to Energy Secretary Stephen Chu calling on the DOE to release its Record of Decision. The letter tells Secretary Chu that FutureGen is five years ahead of any comparable project and can help create jobs and bring this important technology to fruition. The RCGA supports the buildout of FutureGen for its potential to generate thousands of jobs near the St. Louis region and to develop clean coal technology.
High-Speed Rail & Future Gen
$8b dedicated to high speed rail in Recovery Act.High Speed Rail would connect Chicago to St. Louis and reduce train travel to under four hours.Some of the route allows for 110 mph travel but funding needed for updgrades in metropolitan areas.Recovery Act als provides $1b for fossil energy research and development such as FutureGen.Area Congressmen call on DOE to Release its Record of Decision on FutureGen to start the project.
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| An artist's rendering of the FutureGen carbon capture and sequestration project in Mattoon, Illinois (Source: Department of Energy) |
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