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A fossil fuel that has long been a staple product of southern Illinois is up against staunch criticism in Carbondale.
SIU President Glenn Poshard's recent proposal to build a 200- to 250-megawatt coal gasification power plant at SIUC has been denounced by both campus and community groups that say the plan is not environmentally sound.
The proposed plant - which would employ cutting-edge coal gasification technology that is designed to reduce emissions - would provide energy for SIUC, surrounding communities and other universities across the state.
During gasification, the coal is broken down into its basic chemical components and many pollutants are removed. The resulting gas can then be used to fuel an electricity-generating turbine.
Kandace Vallejo, a member of the Student Environmental Center, said the organization has researched alternatives to the proposed $200 million to $250 million plant. The group, she said, hopes to present the administration with an alternate proposal to provide the campus with energy without using coal.
Building a new plant that uses coal seems irresponsible when alternative energy sources are available, said Vallejo, a junior from Florida studying history. The supply of fossil fuels is limited and universities such as SIUC should investigate other ways of generating power, she said.
"I feel like investing the money in more coal technology is almost pointless, because within the next 100 years this entire country is going to have to transfer over to 100 percent clean and sustainable energy," she said. "We're just going to run out of coal and oil."
Poshard said coal is one of the nation's most valuable energy resources, and southern Illinois in particular has a large supply of the fossil fuel. Researching ways to use it cleanly is imperative to the future of the country, he said, and SIUC as a research university is a perfect place to investigate these methods.
"Unless we have a new technology that does something better than what the current technologies do, then we're probably eliminating the use of coal forever," he said.
Poshard said the plant would help combat the rising utility costs that have plagued the university recently. The plant would not only take care of the campus's electricity needs, it would also make the university money because it could sell the excess energy, he said.
Student trustee elect Megan Pulliam said investing heavily into coal is unnecessary when more clean and renewable energy sources exist.
The university should set an example by investing in other sources of electricity, such as wind power, said Pulliam, a junior from Springfield studying Spanish and pre-medicine. Power plants that use coal produce numerous chemicals that contribute to worldwide pollution problems and endanger local communities, she said.
"It's continuing an old process when we should be moving towards alternative fuels," she said.
In an effort to lower energy costs further, the SIUC Physical Plant recently applied for a grant to study the feasibility of using a 2.5-megawatt wind turbine to generate electricity on campus. The wind generator would produce about 6 percent of the electricity used on campus.
Mike Ewall, director of the Energy Justice Network out of Philadelphia, said he spoke with several concerned SIUC students and advised them to be weary of claims that coal gasification technology would end pollution problems associated with coal.
"There is no such thing as clean coal," he said. "The only thing they call clean coal just means that some of the pollutants that are in the coal end up going different places."
Many of the pollutants may not end up in the air, he said, but they are still expelled as solid waste products that must be disposed of.
Physical Plant Director Phil Gatton said many of the elements captured during the coal gasification process, such as sulfur, could be sold as particles.
"It's not like you're taking the byproducts and putting them into the air stream or wasting them by throwing them into the landfills," he said. "There are actually uses for a lot of the particles."
Barbara McKasson, chairwoman of the Shawnee Group Sierra Club, said the group is not pleased with the idea of a coal gasification plant, but would not oppose its construction if the university agreed to certain terms - including the removal of the current coal plant and a commitment to pursue more energy efficiency projects.
"We would rather work with the university than against the university," McKasson said.
If the university did not agree to the group's terms, she said the group would probably appeal the various permits the university would need to build the plant.
Ewall said the public is waking up to the dangers of global warming and laws would probably be passed soon to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from sources including power plants.
Poshard said such legislation is likely, but the coal gasification plant should be able to meet any new standards.
While much research needs to be done, Poshard said he is hopeful coal will remain a viable resource well into the future.
"I wouldn't give up on 200 years of total energy production for this country just because right now maybe we haven't developed the best way in the world to use it," he said.
nirvjec@siu.edu 536-3311 ext. 259
