A research centre with the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is looking for support from the Springfield City Council on a $40m pilot project that would retrofit City Water, Light and Power’s newest power plant to capture carbon dioxide (CO2).
Kevin O’Brien, Director of the Illinois Sustainable Technology Centre, presented their proposal to council members during a Utilities Committee meeting. The project would study whether the method of capturing CO2 from CWLP’s emissions is effective and cost-efficient.
If chosen, the project, from construction to operation to possible tear-down, would be entirely funded by a U.S. Department of Energy grant. The U of I centre is currently one of nine finalists in the running for the grant.
Construction would begin in 2021 and the study would last through to 2025. If the study is successful and CWLP wanted to continue the project, the centre could go back to the Department of Energy to see if the purified CO2 could be stored and used for commercial purposes, like growing algae for biofuel or for fertiliser.
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