A power industry consortium will manage the project and provide at least 20% of the costs, say officials. The timing, the nature of the consortium and other specifics are still undetermined. "Some kind of government solicitation, hopefully by the end of this year," will set forth the consortium requirements, says Robert S. Porter, communications director, Office of Fossil Energy.

DOE anticipates a two-stage, 10-year program. Project definition, engineering, procurement and construction in the first five years would be followed by five years of operation, focusing on using the project as a test bed for new technologies. DOE's National Energy Technology Laboratory, Pittsburgh, Pa., has performed conceptual engineering.

Virtually every aspect of the prototype plant would be based on cutting-edge technology, DOE officials say. The government envisions a plant that will turn coal into a hydrogen-rich gas, rather than burn it directly. The hydrogen could then be combusted in a turbine, used in a fuel cell to produce electricity or sold for industrial use. In the future, the plant could become a model hydrogen-production facility, making fuel for cars running on fuel cells. "We're looking at a plant that produces multiple products," says Porter, rather than just electricity as in the past.

But skeptics abound. Gasifying coal is a mainstream application in the chemicals industry, where it is used to create feedstock for ammonia and other chemicals and fine chemicals. But it is "still an edgy technology" for generating electricity, notes Robert S. Giglio, Foster Wheeler Corp. research director, Livingston, N.J. "The most economical way to make hydrogen is methane–natural gas." Converting energy into hydrogen costs 30% of the energy value, he says.

Besides that, "these numbers are bogus," complains energy consultant David Wojick, Star Tannery, Va. "Their budget and their schedule would be tight for a conventional coal-fired powerplant with [selective catalytic reduction equipment] and a scrubber." FutureGen makes no allowance for the uncertainties inherent in a research project, he says. "This is a typical R&D guy who has no idea how much things cost."

But FutureGen's approach is "really a sure-fire way to have a clean plant," Giglio concedes. "You really can't achieve zero emissions from the back end." It is easier to eliminate the pollutants where they are concentrated in the fuel than after they are dispersed in flue gas, he notes.