It appears that one of the top contenders for a loan guarantee under the Department of Energy program has decided to abandon original plans for a coal gasification plant ( FutureGen ’s sister project) and instead move forward with a 611-megawatt natural gas-fired combined-cycle facility. Original plans for the Taylorville Energy Center were to convert 7,500 tons of coal per day into synthetic natural gas to produce over 700-megawatts of electricity. The new plans should disqualify Taylorsville from a receiving a loan guarantee.

Even with the prospect of a $2.6 billion loan guarantee the economics of the Taylorsville Energy Center did not hold water. Although Taylorsville pulled the plug on themselves, DOE still holds the reins for the other three fossil fuel applicants that could cost taxpayers $5 billion in defaulted loans. To date, the loan guarantee program has done little to instill confidence–already taxpayers are on the hook for more than $500 million for the bankrupt Solyndra , a failed solar panel company. The story may turn out much the same for the other loan guarantee applicants. The overall loan guarantee program lacks transparency and burdens taxpayers with far too much risk. If the program continues to move forward as is, without proper scrutiny these bad deals will continue to fall through the cracks. It’s clear that taxpayers should not be asked to sign off on these deals.

For more information, please contact Autumn Hanna at (202) 546-8500 x112 or autumn[at]taxpayer.net.