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29 March 2004 - Illinois is at the forefront of a coal comeback in the US fueled by volatile natural gas prices that have utilities scrambling for sources of cheaper electricity.
Nationwide, more than 105 coal-fired electric power plants are planned that would produce enough electricity to serve 72.2m homes, according to Platts NEWGen database, which tracks new power-plant projects.
No state has more coal-fired plants in the works than Illinois, which has ten projects on the drawing board. If all were completed, the Illinois plants would produce a combined 10 000 MW of electricity, enough to power 10m homes. Kentucky and Wyoming also each have ten proposed plants, though they would generate about half as much power as those planned in Illinois.
Typically, to be economically competitive, gas prices can't be more than $3 above coal prices/m British thermal units, Woods said. In a volatile gas market, the price spread shouldn't exceed $2.50/m Btu, he said.
In Illinois, the average price of coal for a power plant is $1.14/m Btu, and the average price of gas for a power plant is $5.87/m Btu, according to the Energy Information Administration.
In Illinois, the surge in power-plant projects has pitted environmentalists and health advocates against the Illinois coal industry and Gov. Rod Blagojevich, who campaigned on boosting one of the state's most abundant natural resources.
Mandates in the federal Clean Air Act amendments of 1990 triggered fuel switching from Illinois' high-sulfur coal to low-sulfur western coal. One third of Illinois' 1990 coal production sales have been lost as a result, according the coal industry.
Environmentalists say the plants would contribute to hundreds of deaths from asthma, lung disease and other ailments, while the industry says the plants would create hundreds of Illinois coal mining jobs and increase the country's energy security by easing reliance on imported oil and natural gas.
Some coal plant proponents are aware of the concerns. Ground is expected to be broken this summer for a plant described by the federal government as a demonstration project for clean coal technology.
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