Department of Energy November 8, 2007 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announces the availability of the Draft Environmental Impact Statement for the Mesaba Energy Project (DOE/EIS-0382D) for public comment, as well as the dates, locations and times for public hearings. The draft environmental impact statement (EIS) analyzes the potential environmental consequences of DOE's proposed action to provide a total of $36 million in co-funding, through a financial assistance cooperative agreement, for the design and one-year operational demonstration of a coal-based, Integrated Gasification Combined Cycle (IGCC) electric generating facility on the Iron Range of northern Minnesota. DOE may also provide a loan guarantee pursuant to the Energy Policy Act of 2005 to guarantee a portion of private sector financing for the project; however, this loan guarantee is not part of DOE's proposed action. The facility would be demonstrated through a cooperative agreement between DOE and Excelsior Energy Inc. (Excelsior) under the Clean Coal Power Initiative (CCPI) program.