Today, by a 3-2 vote, the Illinois Commerce Commission (ICC) put on hold advancing a $3 billion clean energy facility on Chicago’s Southeast Side. Chicago Clean Energy is a gasification plant that will produce substitute natural gas from Illinois coal and other products, positioning Illinois as a leader in cutting-edge, clean energy technology.

The Chicago Clean Energy project team will now re-evaluate its next step, in light of the Commission’s vote, the positive comments from the Chairman and each of the Commissioners about the merits of the project, and the fact that four of the five Commissioners took the extraordinary step of requesting that the parties file an application for rehearing. The ICC expressed a desire for more time to consider the issues.

“There is too much at stake to let this project fail, so we will regroup and find a way to bring it to the Southeast side of Chicago,” said Reverend Dr. Walter P. Turner III, Pastor of New Spiritual Light Church.

“This is not over,” said Ted Stalnos, President of the Calumet Area Industrial Commission. “We will continue to fight for the Chicago Clean Energy project, as it will open new doors for workers and businesses across our state.”

Importantly, the ICC process established by the General Assembly concluded that the costs for capital and operations and maintenance (O&M) proposed by Chicago Clean Energy were reasonable, and the rate of return requested was appropriate. The still unresolved issues now revolve around contract terms that relate to financeability, not the economics that support the project.

The positive economics of the project now have been affirmed by the ICC, consistent with a $10 million study performed by a world-class engineering firm as well as by independent reviews performed by the Illinois Power Agency and its outside experts, and the Illinois Capital Development Board and its own set of outside experts. The project has broad-based, statewide support and has passed both chambers of the Illinois General Assembly by super-majority vote margins five separate times.

“This vote signifies a step backward for not only Chicago’s Southeast Side, but also for the whole state,” said Senator Donne E. Trotter, the bill’s Senate sponsor. “We need this type of clean technology to help revitalize our community, as well as help spur Illinois’s entire economy.”

The project is projected to generate more than $10 billion in economic output for Illinois, including an estimated $1.5 billion in added state and local tax revenue, and is guaranteed to save consumers at least $100 million on natural gas bills over 30 years. The natural gas to be produced at the facility is to be sold to the participating Illinois gas utilities under the contracts to be approved by the ICC, which include a number of consumer protections, including a rate cap, a robust reserve account that mitigates rate changes and a performance-based system to share savings and potential revenues with consumers.

“Today’s vote delays revitalization of the Calumet River and the Southeast side of Chicago,” said Jorge Perez, Executive Director of HACIA.

Chicago Clean Energy will utilize a process known as gasification – a proven technology that will produce substitute natural gas from Illinois coal and petroleum coke. The ultra-clean chemical process creates substitute natural gas without burning any of the coal or petcoke. It captures carbon dioxide and other harmful emissions as part of the process. While increasingly utilized around the world, gasification is not yet widely found in the United States.