Illinois EPA Approves EmberClear Gas-Fired Power Plant in Pawnee
In June 2017, MDN reported that EmberClear, based in Houston, TX, wants to build a $1 billion, 1,100 megawatt combined-cycle natural gas-fired plant about 15 miles from Springfield, Illinois, in Pawnee (see NatGas and Coal Go to War in Central Illinois). In April 2018, Springfield city alderman approved a deal for what is now called the Lincoln Land Energy Center to purchase “at least” 80,000 gallons of water per day from City Water, Light and Power (CWLP) for a cool $29,000 per month (see Central Illinois Gas-Fired Power Plant One Step Closer to Reality). The radicalized Sierra Club tried to block the project by blocking a key permit (see Sierra Club Targets Proposed Central Illinois Gas-Fired Power Plant). They failed.
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In June 2017, MDN brought you the news that the very first application to drill a shale well in Illinois had been made (see 
TransCanada’s ANR Pipeline system has just received permission from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to begin service on the Wisconsin South Expansion Project, a project to expand capacity along the ANR in northern Illinois and Wisconsin. This is the first time we’ve highlighted this project. So why *are* we highlighting it? Because we think Marcellus/Utica molecules will be some of the molecules flowing along the expanded ANR–all the way to Wisconsin.
In June, MDN brought you the news that the very first application to drill a shale well in Illinois had been made (see 
For years now, coal and natural gas have been uneasy allies (both being fossil fuels). As mainstream media has endlessly covered, natural gas increasingly displaces coal to generate electricity. That has led to some situations of open sniping between the two camps. Coal wants to protect what’s left of its shrinking market, natural gas pushes the fact that it’s far cleaner to burn than coal. Back and forth it goes. Both camps realize they are under assault by radical environmentalists who desire to end the use of all fossil fuels, no matter how “clean” they are. We spotted an article about a clash between coal and natural gas in Illinois. There are a lot of coal mines near Springfield, IL. EmberClear wants to build a $1 billion, 1,100 megawatt combined-cycle natural gas-fired plant about 15 miles from Springfield. Coal sees it as a direct assault and will lead to the closing of local mines and the loss of jobs. EmberClear isn’t backing down–they will build even without tax breaks. The whole matter appears to us to have progressed from impolite talk and sniping into a full-blown war…
Technically, this is not a Marcellus/Utica story, but it is (and should be) of interest to those of us who concentrate on the Appalachian region. The very first application has been filed in Illinois for a permit to drill and frack a shale well. Woolsey Operating Co., headquartered in Kansas, has filed a high volume horizontal hydraulic fracturing (HVHHF) application with the Illinois Dept. of Natural Resources (DNR). The DNR has assigned the application Review Number HVHHF-000001 — the very first. Which is momentous. We’ve only seen two mainstream news sources (from Illinois) pick up on what is really big news. No national news sources have covered it–yet. The press release from the DNR provides some details, like the location of the proposed well (southern Illinois, in White County). What the announcement and news stories don’t say is which rock layer will the shale well target? MDN found the answer by reviewing the application…