Gov. Dave Freudenthal has endorsed Illinois' bid for the FutureGen project, which aims to refine coal-gasification and other "clean" technologies for coal.

Freudenthal indicated his support for Illinois because officials there have agreed to share research and other information regarding clean coal technologies.

Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich said it's important that coal-producing states unite in support of FutureGen because it will ultimately help preserve the domestic coal industry nationwide.

Wyoming's 446 million tons of annual coal production - representing 35 percent of the nation's coal supply - make it a key ally in Illinois' bid, according to Blagojevich.

"Having Wyoming acknowledge that Illinois is the premier site is a huge plus for our bid to host FutureGen," Blagojevich said in a prepared statement. "Governor Freudenthal recognizes, as we do, the importance of this project for any state wanting to maximize the potential for its coal reserves by advancing clean coal technology."

FutureGen is a U.S.-led international effort to develop a 275-megawatt, zero-emissions, coal-gasification power plant. Among the main goals of the $1.5 billion public/private partnership is to refine the efficiency of carbon capture and permanent carbon storage technologies.

The world's top scientists say human-caused carbon dioxide is almost certainly a key factor in global warming. Coal-fired power plants are a major source of the greenhouse gas.

Wyoming had proposed a site near Gillette for FutureGen, but the state's application was disqualified from the site selection competition in 2006. The FutureGen Alliance cited insufficient geologic data to support carbon sequestration requirements, noting it was not satisfied that the Madison aquifer below the site would not be a future source of drinking water.

In response, Freudenthal and Wyoming's congressional delegation had expressed suspicion that national political influences were at play in the decision - a charge that FutureGen Alliance CEO Mike Mudd vehemently denied.

Since, Wyoming State Geologist Ron Surdam has reviewed the final four proposed locations for FutureGen - two in Illinois and two in Texas - and determined Illinois makes the strongest case.

Marion Loomis, executive director of the Wyoming Mining Association, said that perhaps more important than the location of FutureGen is the timing.

"We need to get one of these plants built someplace and get started on confirming the technology and the cost and the reliability of coal-gasification," Loomis said Monday.

He said amendments to the Clean Air Act in the 1970s did give Wyoming's low-sulfur, sub-bituminous coal some advantages over Eastern coal. However, coal-gasification is of a flex-fuel technology that doesn't necessarily give a great advantage to one coal type.

"When you lump in these new technologies, ultimately, utilities will look at (British thermal heating units)," Loomis said.

As coal-producing states, both Illinois and Wyoming have much at stake in deploying technologies that capture and sequester greenhouse gases, according to Mica Matsoff, spokeswoman for the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity.

"Illinois shares many common characteristics with other coal states in terms of water, land uses and geology, which makes replicating FutureGen much easier," Matsoff told the Star-Tribune.

In the meantime, Wyoming continues to issue emissions permits for new coal-fired power plants. Three new coal-fired power plants are expected to be built in Campbell County in the next few years with no carbon capture or carbon sequestration.

Energy reporter Dustin Bleizeffer can be reached at (307) 577-6069 or dustin.bleizeffer@casperstartribune.net.