For Immediate Release: 2.4.15 Contact: Laura Sheehan (202) 459- 4867 [email protected] @Laura_A_Sheehan FutureGen Close-Out Reveals President Obama’s Hypocrisy Towards Clean Coal Technology Washington, D.C. – The American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity blasted the Department of Energy’s close-out notice for FutureGen 2.0, which was issued despite the Environmental Protection Agency specifically citing Future Gen 2.0 as an advanced-stage model in the agency’s New Source Performance Standards rule. The announcement came just one day after President Obama requested millions of dollars in funding for carbon capture and storage projects in his FY 2016 budget. “The Obama Administration is engaging in misleading double- talk on clean coal technology. Although the administration leaned heavily on FutureGen technologies to justify its flawed New Source Performance Standards rule, President Obama has now cut the project off altogether—demonstrating his hypocrisy towards the American people and his bias against advanced clean coal technologies,” said Laura Sheehan, senior vice president for communications at ACCCE. “President Obama and his federal agencies are clearly opposed to advancing carbon capture and storage technology, despite repeated assurances. What makes this action even more disgraceful is then-Senator Obama’s full-throated support for FutureGen in 2006.” In 2006, then-U.S. Senator Barack Obama described FutureGen project as “the future of coal in the United States.” He also advocated for his home state of Illinois to become the home of FutureGen, contending that “with our vast coal deposits, skilled labor force and technological know-how, there is no better place than Illinois for this plant to be located.” Obama also called Illinois “the Saudi Arabia of coal,” but noted that “it’s clear that we aren’t harnessing that potential.” (Sen. Dick Durbin, “Sens. Durbin, Obama, Rep. Costello Praise Selection of Two Sites in Illinois as Contenders for FutureGen,” Press Release, 7/25/06) Coal provides nearly 40 percent of America’s electric power, making it the most used feedstock for electricity generation. The coal-based power industry has led in developing ways to use our most reliable, affordable and abundant resource more cleanly and efficiently than ever before, investing nearly $120 billion so far to reduce emissions by 90 percent and putting in an additional $27 billion between now and 2016. ### .