Coal-to-diesel fuel plant, coal mine may be developed
Thursday, August 10, 2006 10:26 PM CDT
jg-tc.com
Oakland-area project may bring 600 jobs
Coal-to-diesel fuel plant, coal mine may be developed locally
By ROB STROUD, Staff Writer
rstroud@jg-tc.com
OAKLAND -- A Portland, Ore., company is pursuing development of a plant near Oakland that would convert locally mined coal into diesel fuel and employ 600 people.
American Clean Coal Fuels company officials said the plant would convert 4.3 million tons of coal into 385 million gallons of fuel annually and create 600 full-time jobs. That plant would use coal gasification technology similar to the proposed FutureGen coal-to-electricity plant for which Mattoon, Tuscola and two Texas sites are vying.
Company President Stephen Johnson was in Oakland and Hindsboro this week to meet members and potential members of the Embarras Valley Coal Association, which would provide the coal needed for the plant.
“We are looking to secure a 20-year supply of coal for the facility before we commit and launch the project,” Johnson said. The proposed site for the plant has not been determined yet.
The company and its private-sector backers have spent about two years working on getting the coal-to-liquid fuel project started, Johnson said. The company learned six months ago about the Embarras Valley Coal Association’s desire to find a market for and mine its coal, he said.
Johnson said getting all of the needed coal from the association would ensure the plant is not dependent on outside commercial mining operations.
“We would like to definitely have control over the feedstock of coal,” Johnson said, adding the company would hire its own mining contractor.
The sulfur that exists in high quantities in central Illinois coal could easily be removed during the conversion process at the plant, Johnson said. That process would include chemically converting coal to ultra-clean synthetic diesel fuel that is biodegradable without burning the coal, he said.
“This will be one of the first facilities of its kind ever built in the United States,” Johnson said.
The plant also would need at least 20-million gallons of biodiesel per year to blend with its fuels for lubricity purposes. That would require 13.7-billion bushels of soybeans per year to produce that amount of biodiesel.
Chairman Joe McCoskey of the coal association estimated the group’s approximately 150-member property owners can already furnish enough reserves to supply the plant for 15 years. He said the association would like to sign up 10 to 15 more property owners to provide enough for 20 years or beyond.
Oakland has had ties to coal mining in the past, including developer George Alan Weed’s Miracle Mine in 1987 that failed in part due to mismanagement.
McCoskey said the association has seen “ups and downs” in its 28 years of trying to find a market and mine for its coal. He said Hindsboro, Oakland and neighboring communities would benefit economically from the proposed plant and its associated mine.
“I think this will be a real shot in the arm,” McCoskey said.
The coal association encompasses an area that runs from Hugo in the northwest to Isabel in the southeast, crossing Douglas, Coles and Edgar county lines. Johnson said mining would take place underground, below participating properties in the association, and the owners would be compensated.
“We are aiming to have the plant operating by 2012,” Johnson said, cautioning the project is still in the early stage of development.
Angela Griffin, president of Coles Together, said her office has been working with American Clean Coal Fuels on the project. Griffin said she has been impressed by the company’s research, the plant’s potential for creating 600 jobs, and the plant’s use of cutting-edge coal gasification technology.
“This is a project that is just as important to the region as FutureGen,” Griffin said.
Contact Rob Stroud at rstroud@jg-tc.com or 348-5734. |
