The DOE announced that the Taylorville Project has been selected to receive an offer of a loan guarantee. The DOE sent a notice of “Selection to Proceed with Due Diligence and Negotiation Leading to a Conditional Commitment” to Tenaska executives. The value of the commitment is $2.579 billion and the project estimated total installed cost (TIC) is $3.5 billion.

This is terrific news for Tenaska as well as the end users of the electricity that will be provided by the facility. The application process for the DOE solicitation is rigorous. Tenaska is the first applicant that the DOE offered a loan guarantee. This should be considered an indicator that the project has solid execution plan and a good economic model, because the projects are in a competitive situation. The DOE is reviewing each application and evaluating them on several factors to select the best projects.

The Taylorville plant will gasify coal and capture CO2. The emissions will be comparable to a natural gas fired plant. This plant design is based on “clean coal technology” – coal gasification.

Related news:

Burns & McDonnell Selected For Taylorville Energy FEED

Deadline for DOE Phase Two Applications Is Here

Applications For DOE Loan Guarantees Are Turned In

The Taylorville Energy Center has been approved to receive its final air permit after more than two years of permit and processing activities. The U.S. Appeals Court turned down the Sierra Club’s request the air permit be denied.

The basis for denying the Sierra Club appeal is that the Sierra Club waited too long to voice an objection about the project. The high court decision effectively eliminates the Sierra Clubs sabotage tactics of waiting to the eleventh hour to file a lawsuit and derail thousands of manhours of engineering and millions of dollars of investment.

The air permit now provides a clear path for Taylorville Project to move forward. The project is a commercial scale IGCC facility in Taylorville, Illinois that will gasify coal and produce 630 Megawatts of power for the surrounding communities. The coal gasification process is environmentally friendly. It makes it possible to remove the sulfur from the syngas and therefore the high sulfur coal in the area can be used as a feedstock. The sulfur removal is expected to have an efficiency greater than 99.8%. In addition, mercury, particulates and nitrous oxides will also be removed.