Significant progress has been made in drilling the geologic characterization well in Morgan County. The well will not only benefit the FutureGen 2.0 project, but will also add to the scientific understanding of the Illinois geology. After completion and quality assurance, the results of the drilling effort will be shared with the Illinois State Geologic Survey and the public.

Drilling began on October 5. Initially, a 30-inch bit was used to drill down to the bedrock. At this depth a 24-inch steel casing was cemented into the hole. This initial casing isolates all drilling and testing from the surface geology, thereby protecting the surface geology and any shallow groundwater. Drilling then proceeded with a smaller bit to a depth of about 570 feet. At that point, a 16-inch steel casing was cemented into the hole. This second casing runs all the way to the surface and provides a second level of environmental protection and stabilized the wellbore.

The drill team is now using a 14-3/4 bit and as of November 1, at 7:00 AM, the drill bit reached 2,718 feet. Drilling speed varies, depending on the hardness of the rock formation at a particular depth. Currently, around 100 feet of rock is being drilled through each day. Intermittently, drilling pauses for various geologic tests, changing drill bits, or other engineering activities. The team predicts that the target geologic formation—the Mount Simon sandstone—will be reached in December. To date, the drilling rate has been right on schedule. The final borehole depth is estimated to be around 5,100 feet. A core sample of several of the formations will be extracted to verify the suitability of the rock to store CO2. No actual injection of CO2 will occur in this borehole as it is only for geologic characterization.

The team wants to confirm the physical properties, including the thicknesses and the porosity, of the different rock formations. It is important to the success of the project to have an impermeable rock layer—often a shale referred to as the caprock—above the target storage formation. This caprock is needed to ensure that the CO2, which is ultimately injected into sandstone called the Mount Simon, is retained in that formation. The cap rock—called the Eau Claire—will also be sampled. These properties, as well as a number of others, will be characterized as part of the drilling operation.

Construction of the characterization well pad at the FutureGen 2.0 storage site in Morgan County has been completed. Drilling equipment will be mobilized to the site the week of October 3 and drilling will begin shortly thereafter. The purpose of the well is to thoroughly characterize the full column of rock, including the Mount Simon sandstone, which is the target formation for CO2 storage. No CO2 will be injected in this well now or in the future.

During construction of the well pad by local union contractor UCM, steps were taken to ensure that the environment is protected. As built, the well pad is surrounded by a berm on three sides that has drainage and erosion controls to ensure that storm water is properly managed. These controls include covering the berms with topsoil and planting grass seed and placing erosion control blankets on slopes, berms, and ditches around the well pad. In addition, a reserve pit has been dug and lined with a rubber liner to contain any excess fluids generated during drilling. Alliance contractor, Patrick Engineering Inc. of Springfield, Ill, conducted testing and quality assurance. All construction activities were performed smoothly with no unforeseen difficulties.

When mobilization of the drilling rig begins, approximately twenty semi-truck loads will be required to move it to the site. Major drilling equipment components will include the drilling rig, a fuel tank, water tanks, pumps for circulating drilling mud, steel pits (tanks) for mud cleaning (i.e., solids settling) and mixing the drilling mud, pipe racks for holding drilling pipe, and a generator/light plant. In addition, two temporary office trailers will be installed at the site.

The Illinois Department of Natural Resources, Division of Oil and Gas, has approved the Alliance’s permit for drilling. The characterization well will be approximately 5,100 feet deep and drilling is expected to take about 90 days, followed by approximately 3 to 4 weeks of additional on-site characterization activities. Once initiated, drilling will generally occur 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. In the site design, the berms and temporary trailers are arranged as noise barriers between the site and local residents to minimize potential noise impacts.

After drilling is completed, a wellhead will be installed and the equipment will be removed. The wellhead will allow access to the wellbore for future geologic monitoring. A portion of the gravel pad surrounding the characterization well and an access road will remain for long-term access. The remainder of the site will be restored to its original condition unless the landowners request certain improvements remain (e.g., drainage systems or portions of the gravel pad that might be suitable for hosting various farm facilities).

Part of ensuring public and worker safety is to control site access during drilling. For those interested in visiting the site, please send an email to cplowfield@futgen.org and a tour will be arranged on a case-by-case basis at a prescheduled time.

Union contractor, UCM is making quick progress in the construction of a drilling pad. The pad will be for the characterization well at the site in Morgan County. The drilling pad is made of compacted gravel and is 300 feet by 350 feet. The farm road leading to the site has been upgraded substantially to allow for safe truck travel. To construct the pad, an area was cleared by removing and reserving the top soil for ultimate site restoration. The reserved soil has been formed into a berm to decrease noise levels to the surrounding area during drilling. After drilling and installation of the wellhead and casing, the size of the pad will be reduced by removing some of the gravel and replacing the topsoil. In addition to serving as a geologic characterization well in the short-term, the well may serve as a monitoring well for decades to come.

The Alliance anticipates that site preparations will be completed the week of August 15. Immediately thereafter, a small drill owned by the Illinois State Geological Survey will be onsite for several days to drill a shallow characterization and groundwater monitoring well. Shortly thereafter, the larger drilling rig for the deep geologic characterization well will arrive onsite. The characterization well will extend to the full depth of the Mount Simon formation and about 150 below into the underlying granite. The total depth will be nearly a mile below the earth’s surface. The purpose of the characterization well is to thoroughly evaluate the full column of rock, including the caprock overlying the Mount Simon, to confirm that the area is an excellent match for CO2 storage. The geologic characterization well drilling and installation effort is expected to take about 3 months to complete. No CO2 will be injected into the well now or in the future. It is for characterization and monitoring only.

FutureGen Citizens’ Board meets to discuss ideas for visitor, research and training facilities

On August 9, the FutureGen Citizens’ Board met in Jacksonville. The focus was on identifying functional requirements for the visitor, research and training facilities.

The Alliance presented information on the budget, scope, and operating model of similar facilities in the region, the U.S., and the world to help stir the discussion. Board members provided excellent input on the potential functions of the planned facilities. They were asked to identify three to five functions that they would like considered in the final design of the facilities. For each suggested function, board members are identifying the audience that would benefit from the function, the partners needed to make sure the function can be successfully implemented, and the funding model for helping to cover operational costs.

If anyone in the community has ideas that they want to make sure are considered in the design of the facilities, please contact anyone on the board and share your thoughts so that they may be included or email the Alliance at info@futuregenalliance.org.

United Contractors Midwest (UCM) Inc. has begun road upgrades in the Beilschmidt Road area in preparation for drilling a geologic characterization well later this summer. These road upgrades will also benefit neighbors who live in the area. UCM won the contract in a competition between three construction firms located in Morgan and Sangamon counties. Consistent with the Alliance’s commitment to union labor, UCM will staff the construction project with union labor.

Construction work will include:

• Building pullouts on Beilschmidt Road so that vehicles can more safely pass each other;
• Upgrading a private farm road that will connect Beilschmidt Road to the characterization well site;
• Removing and storing top soil at the characterization well site, so that after drilling is complete and the drilling equipment is gone, much of the top soil can be replaced and the ground can be returned to productive farm land;
• Building a gravel pad at the characterization well site where the well will be drilled.

The Alliance also signed a repair and maintenance agreement with the Morgan County Road District. This assures that if any of the FutureGen’s heavy trucks damage any county roads in the area (e.g., inadvertently create potholes) the FutureGen project will pay to return them to equal or better condition.

The Alliance has also finalized a contract for the drilling work with Les Wilson, Inc., an Illinois drilling company, that won the competition to drill the well. Les Wilson is one of very few drillers in the region with the qualifications and equipment to drill the type of very deep well that is required. Drilling is expected to begin by mid-August. The well will be used to study the geology nearly a mile deep underground. It will only be used for scientific study and no CO2 will be injected into the well. Data collected from this well will increase our understanding of the underlying geology and help further validate that the proposed storage site is good for long-term storage of CO2.

The FutureGen Citizens’ Board will host a teleconference this week to start a discussion about functional requirements desired by the community for the visitor, research, and training facilities to be built by the Alliance in support of the FutureGen 2.0 project. In-person meetings with the Board and with other interested stakeholders will be scheduled for August. At these meetings, the Board will seek citizens’ views on what factors they want to see considered in the function and design. One of the big questions is whether the community would want new construction or rehabilitation of existing building(s). Above all, the Alliance wants to ensure that any facilities built are sustainable and that the mission/vision and operating principles of these facilities includes community input.

This is a long-term partnership that the Alliance will have in the community and it wants to have an open, upfront discussion as to the broad community’s vision and interests. Citizens who would like to have their ideas considered on this subject are asked to please contact the Alliance directly by sending an email to info@futuregenalliance.org or by contacting one of the members on the Citizens’ Board – the list of members is provided on this website. We will make sure that your ideas are considered.

On June 9th, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) hosted its Morgan County scoping meeting associated with its environmental review of sites for FutureGen 2.0.

At an informal open house held between 5:00-7:00 p.m., DOE, Ameren, the FutureGen Alliance, and the Illinois State Geological Survey presented posters, videos, and hands-on displays to describe different aspects of the project and answered questions from the citizens who attended. The formal meeting began at 7:00 p.m. with presentations from the various entities representing the project. Alliance CEO Ken Humphreys stressed that the purpose of this first round of public meetings was to hear stakeholders’ issues and concerns because “we can’t address concerns unless they are raised.” Several citizens expressed their views regarding the project and raised issues that they felt need to be considered during the environmental review process.

DOE is compiling all of the comments and others that may be submitted during the public comment period which ends on June 22, 2011, and will place a report on their website in the next few weeks. DOE plans to host its next public meetings in the spring of 2012 following the release of its draft Environmental Impact Statement.

Environmental Educational Opportunities

The FutureGen Alliance is developing its Monitoring, Verification, and Accounting (MVA) plan, which will to include the activities and systems that will be used to study and monitor the injected CO2 for the life of the project. The plan will also include opportunities to engage local schools and colleges to participate in monitoring activities. Near-term monitoring activities planned by the Alliance will determine the existing environmental conditions. These include monitoring for:

1. Groundwater conditions
2. Ecological conditions – surveying wetlands, surface water, and natural vegetation
3. Atmospheric conditions
4. Soil gas and naturally produced CO2
5. Remote sensing – spectral analysis of forest canopy and crop density
6. Crop productivity

The Alliance plans to work through the FutureGen Citizens’ Board, on which several senior educators serve, to identify specific mechanisms to involve faculty and students in this work. Funding will be allocated for this effort. Depending on interest, faculty and students could be involved in the project on a long-term basis in helping to collect and analyze the environmental data.