Bush Touts Experimental CO2-Free Plant

WASHINGTON -- - The Bush administration unveiled plans for an experimental coal-fired power plant free of carbon dioxide emissions that could be built within 10 years.

The FutureGen project is expected to cost $1 billion and would be financed by the Energy Department, other countries and private companies. Bush administration officials will ask about 20 countries in June to become involved with the project.

The plant would turn coal into a gas for hydrogen fuel cells. The prototype will explore several technologies to attempt emissions-free coal energy, including using a membrane to remove CO2 from the coal gas and storing the CO2 underground in geological formations.

"There is no doubt coal is going to be a principal fuel source in the 21st century," Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham said, adding that the project "will help turn coal from an environmentally challenging energy resource into an environmentally benign one."

Some environmentalists said they doubted the initiative would be groundbreaking if the Bush administration continues to push voluntary measures to reduce emissions. "A large-scale demonstration of carbon-capture technology is a good idea, but without a requirement to limit carbon emissions the market won't use it," said David G. Hawkins, a climate policy expert at the Natural Resources Defense Council.