No relaxing on the FutureGen proposal

We’ll we made it past phase one in the FutureGen playoffs. Now it is time to focus on phase two. Mattoon scored impressively on the site requirements for the project, but the fight is not over yet.

I’ve been watching the process pretty closely and I have been quite impressed with the proposal Mattoon has put together. And local authorities involved in the process have been very helpful in answering questions. David Wortman, Angela Griffin and Chapin Rose have all been a tremendous help.

But it is not guaranteed the plant will be built here yet. We are one in four possible choices. Now is the time to reevaluate our proposal and double our efforts to bring the plant.

The sites were scored based on surface conditions (availability of cooling water, power grid, site topography, etc.) and subsurface conditions (geology, faults, etc.) The Mattoon site scored second in both areas, behind Jewett, Texas on surface conditions and Odessa, Texas on subsurface conditions.

The good news is Mattoon scored very high in categories we can’t change, such as rock formations and fault lines. And lower in categories we have some control over, such as power grid infrastructure and access to nearby grounds for monitoring.

Upgrades to the power grid and negotiations with landowners for monitoring access can fill the needed gap to move Mattoon ahead of the Texas sites. We lost 40 points to land access. This one category could put us in the lead.

There will be other factors in the final choice that were not included in the first phase of the decision making process. It will probably be these factors that make or break the deal.

Both states have been touting their access and availability to coal. But the alliance has stated that the plant will be using coal from various places around the country and even around the world so this is not as important as it seems on the surface.

The Illinois sites are relatively close to the Illinois Coal Research facility at Southern Illinois University. Since FutureGen is also a research facility, this proximity could work to Mattoon’s advantage. Perhaps Lake Land could begin some kind of coal research. However, the University of Texas coal research facility is about the same distance to the Jewett, Texas site.

One of the biggest advantages that the Texas sites currently have over the Illinois sites is that the State of Texas has agreed to take ownership of the CO2 created from the plant and indemnifying the Alliance from the CO2. The proposal evaluation report released by the FutureGen Alliance states that this was a contribution factor to choosing the Texas sites.

Illinois passing similar legislation will go a long way to leveling the playing field. State Representative, Chapin Rose assured me that if it came down that close, Illinois would do what it could to match the Texas deal. U.S. Representatives, Tim Johnson and John Shimkus, and Jerry Costello are working at the federal level to see if something can be done about the CO2 liability. I want to keep pressure on the politicians to make sure Illinois is keeping up with Texas. I would hate to hear "the sites were real close, but since Texas agreed to take ownership of the CO2...."

Overall, it looks as though Mattoon is in decent shape for getting the FutureGen power plant. But now is not the time to wait and see. Now is the time to double the efforts and don’t give up on the fight. We can do this, but it will have to be a real community effort.

Using Lake Land College for economic development

Mattoon has one of the most successful community college in the state. So why don't we use this success to our advantage. The truth is, unless you are south of I-57 on Route 45, you don't even know Lake Land exists.

Lake Land's new president agrees. New Lake Land College President Bill Thallemer, recently commented on lack of interaction between the college and the community. Thallemer believes there is a mental divide between Lake Land College and the communities in its district.

Using Lake Land’s proximity for economic development is something I never considered and I’m not really sure why. Lake Land is huge plus for Mattoon and is not being taken advantage of.

The problem is Lake Land is four miles south of town. And Interstate 57 lies between town and the school. This means very few students need to come into Mattoon to attend Lake Land. And even if you live in Mattoon, you still need a vehicle to get to the college. If people are required to drive, they might as well drive from their hometown.

While the new apartments adjacent to the college help students with transportation difficulties, it was a disadvantage to landlords within the City who cater to Lake Land students. And took a great number of people away from the heart of town. These apartments have not done well for Mattoon business. In a way, the campus is an element of sprawl.

Lake Land College opened long before the campus was built. Classes were held in various locations around town. The business offices were in the 200 block of North 20th street. These buildings were razed just last year. Utterbacks Business College was where Alexander Office Supplies was. Utterbacks closed when Lake Land opened and the building was razed in 1999 after the office store closed.

I have often thought how downtown would be if the Lake Land Campus had not been built and classes were still held there. Apartments on the second and third floors may be filled with students wanting live in proximity of classes. Businesses would fill the ground floors catering to students needs.

But the campus was built four miles south of town. At the time of its construction, its location and its effect on the city’s center were probably not considered. It’s not that Lake Land is hurting Mattoon, its just not really helping either.

We can't move campus, but how can we take advantage of the thousands of students that go there. Many of these students never even go into Mattoon. What can Mattoon do to bring these people into town? Can incentives or discounts be offered to Lake Land students? Are Mattoon businesses advertised on the Lake Land Campus? Is public transportation from town to campus possible?

Mattoon is studying a TIF district along the south Route 45 corridor. Cleaning up this route may help draw students into town. Now the new President of Lake Land had expressed interest in Lake Land working together with the community to help improve both institutions. This partnership could be what both needs.

Where are the E-85 pumps in Coles County?

An increasing number of vehicles have the ability to run on E-85 fuel. This fuel is 85 percent ethanol and 15 percent gasoline. The vehicles are known as flexible fuel vehicles (FFV).

The difference between regular vehicles and FFV's is a small computer microprocessor within the fuel system. This processor detects what fuel blend is being utilized and automatically adjusts the engine's ignition timing and air/fuel mixture ratios accordingly. The FFV chip adjusts the engine's optimum performance for any ratio of gasoline to fuel alcohol.

There have been many debates on the economic benefit of E-85. Typically, it costs about 20 percent less than regular unleaded, but you get about 20 percent drop in fuel efficiency, so your cost per mile is about the same.

But it’s the environmental advantages that attract most E-85 users. Dangerous emissions are far less with E-85 than traditional gasoline. And using home grown fuel reduces the dependency on foreign oil. And

The other big controversy about E-85 fuel revolves around amount of energy required to create it. Some studies show that by the time corn is planted, harvested, transported and processed to ethanol, more energy is spent than is created by the end product. But other studies show the opposite. It seems the results coincide with the agenda of who is sponsoring the study.

Could ethanol replace fossil fuels altogether? Probably not, some estimate if all the corn grown in the United States was used for ethanol production, it would only replace 10 percent of the fuel used nationwide. Ethanol produced from sugarcane can be 5 to 10 time more efficient than ethanol produced from corn. But the climate in most of the United States is not suited for growing sugarcane.

Whether E-85 fuel is cheaper, more efficient or safer than traditional fuel is moot to citizens of Coles County. The fuel is not available in this county. Any advantages are lost in the trip to Effingham, Champaign, Shelbyville or Marshall to purchase the fuel.

It has been argued that there is not enough demand in the County to justify gas station owners to dedicate pumps and tanks to the fuel and its sale would not be profitable. But have there been any actual studies done on this? A new website has set out to find this out. http://www.geocities.com/colese85/

The site asks users if they would use E-85 and estimate the amount per month that would be used. It currently estimates a demand for 1750 gallons per month in Coles County. It seems the demand for an alternative fuel is growing in the area and some gas station owners would find it profitable to offer E-85. It is only a matter of time before this demand is met.

What a difference a year makes

The world changed for me 12 months ago. July 8, 2005, my twin girls were born. It has been the fastest year of my life. It seems like yesterday we brought Jaime and Rebecca home from the hospital.

I don’t think we slept for the first six months. I swear they timed it so one of them was always awake. The cost of baby formula and diapers was daunting. But it eventually got better and the rewards are never ending. I wrote a year ago on a experiencing a year of firsts. And every day it seems another first occurs.

We’ve had the first crawl, the first words (well kind of), and first teeth; we are still waiting for the first steps, but any day now, they will come. We just cleaned up from our first rummage sale. (Maybe I should have mentioned that last week so you readers could have come bought our stuff…oops) Now we are having our first birthday.

The sleepless nights are mostly over now, but there are many more challenges to come. But with each challenge comes much reward. Before long, they will be off to college. We will wonder what happened. Happy first birthday girls, and many many more.


Fourth of July weekend, and I’m busy with the festivities. Sorry for the low content, fluffy column, I’ll try to make up for it next week. Hope everyone had a good holiday.