FutureGen picks Mattoon, Ill. for clean-coal plant

HOUSTON, Dec 18 (Reuters) - The FutureGen Alliance named Mattoon, Illinois, as the site for a clean coal-fired power plant, beating out another site in Illinois and two in Texas, officials said on Tuesday.

The public-private venture which includes companies from around the world, wants to design and test technology required to turn coal into a gas that can be stripped of harmful emissions, then burned to produce electricity and hydrogen.

FutureGen's most ambitious goal is to capture carbon dioxide -- widely blamed for global warming -- and store it underground permanently. The plant is expected to be online in 2012. (Reporting by Eileen O'Grady)