Coal gasification and us: Proposed local plant in Pocatello, Idaho sparks public debate

Seven months have passed since the surprise announcement: An out-of-state energy group had plans to build a 520 megawatt coal-gasification plant to generate electricity just outside Pocatello at the idled FMC plant site.

In the ensuing time, in which local leaders have been exposed to a crash course in chemistry 101, some area residents have taken sides on the issue in barroom and backyard conversations.

To many Gate City residents, memories of FMC’s emissions still fresh, the proposal has a lot that seems negative.

”Clearly the technology still has bugs to be worked out,“ said John Schmidt, chairman of the Eastern Idaho Sierra Club, in reference to plants such as the Piñon Pine Power Plant in Nevada, which has been plagued by malfunctions and never lived up to initial expectations.

By Dan Boyd – Journal Writer

Full Story: http://www.journalnet.com/articles/2005/10/16/news/local/news01.txt

Further Stories:

Mulberry, Fla., perspective
MULBERRY, Fla. – Polk Power Station rests on 4,300 acres along State Road 37 in Mulberry, Fla., a small town in the shadow of Tampa. Its makeup includes two natural gas power plants and the nation’s second coal-gasification plant. http://www.journalnet.com/articles/2005/10/16/news/local/news02.txt

Terre Haute, Ind., perspective
TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – The power plant near where Charlie Lee mines Indiana coal gives him hope that he’s extracting the energy source of the future. http://www.journalnet.com/articles/2005/10/16/news/local/news03.txt

Cleaner plant still rejected by community in Indiana: Air quality a concern for St. Joseph County
NEW CARLISLE, Ind. – It appears ”clean coal“ isn’t clean enough for residents of St. Joseph County, home to the University of Notre Dame’s Fighting Irish and a proposed 550 megawatt coal gasification plant. http://www.journalnet.com/articles/2005/10/16/news/local/news04.txt