WASHINGTON COUNTY - In a scene that had all the flair and excitement of a sectional championship basketball game, Nashville's venerable Assembly Hall was literally rocking Monday morning.

But this time it wasn't another matchup between the Nashville Hornets and the Pinckneyville Panthers that created the jam-packed bleachers and buzz of excitement. Instead, what had this crowd revved up was a visit by Gov. Rod Blagojevich and the prospect of 450 permanent and much-needed jobs for the Washington County area.

Blagojevich made a swing through Southern Illinois Monday morning - his second trip to the region in three weeks - touting the Prairie State Energy Campus, a proposed $2 billion clean coal power plant that will be built in Washington County, near Marissa.

"As America searches for secure, affordable energy sources to reduce our reliance on foreign energy suppliers, the search ends right here in our backyard," Blagojevich told the enthusiastic crowd. "And I want you to know that we are going to do everything humanly possible to get the coal industry moving again in Illinois."

Flanked by local and state elected officials, top executives from Peabody Energy and coal officials from throughout the state, Blagojevich said the project will provide a boon to the area's declining coal industry along with a major economic boost to all of Southern Illinois.

The proposed project calls for the construction of a 1,500-megawatt electricity generation plant near Marissa that would be fueled by 6 million tons of coal each year produced from an adjacent underground mine.

Electricity from the plant would be distributed through the Illinois power grid and transmitted to Midwest communities and other energy suppliers.

To the cheers of students from several Washington County high schools and local Nashville residents who came out in force, Blagojevich said the project is estimated in inject nearly $100 million annually into the Illinois economy, create approximately 2,500 jobs at peak construction and 450 skilled, permanent Illinois jobs.

"By supporting important coal initiatives, we are diversifying our energy supply and the economy of our great state," Blagojevich said. "This public-private partnership represents a milestone in our vision to create good jobs and rebuild the coal mining regions of Illinois. Illinois coal is experiencing a rebirth, and I can think of no better example of that rebirth than the Prairie State Energy Campus."

Blagojevich said the Prairie State Energy Campus could be backed by significant state financing, namely the Illinois Finance Authority (IFA), where up to $1.7 billion in state bonds could be made available. In 2002 Illinois lawmakers passed legislation that gave the IFA up to $300 million in bonding authority to support clean coal development projects.

The governor said the financing package was instrumental in attracting Peabody Energy to Illinois because of the significant financial savings it will provide.

Blagojevich said the average salary for the jobs will be more than $55,000 per year.

"Projects such as this represent a significant shot in the arm for an industry that has weathered considerable hardship but offers great promise," Blagojevich said. "We must do better at deploying this abundant Illinois resource as a homegrown source of energy for our nation and a source of jobs and economic growth for the coal mining regions of this state."

Irl F. Engelhardt, chief executive officer with Peabody Energy, told the overflow crowd that the proposed project provides a glimpse into the future of clean coal technology. Peabody is spending more than $500 million on new technology that control emissions.

"Peabody is proud of the involvement in a project that will create clean, low-cost electricity for families, safe and well-paying jobs and economic opportunity for communities to grow and prosper," Engelhardt said. "Prairie State is a model for a new generation using technologies that create plant efficiencies, cost and environmental benefits. We believe Prairie State is a major step toward the goal of near-zero emissions from generating plants."

While the project still has some obstacles to overcome, a major hurdle was cleared only last month when the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency issued an air permit for the project.

"The permit marks a major milestone in the development of the project," Roger B. Walcott Jr., Peabody executive vice president of corporate development, said. "It is a testament to Peabody's commitment to create clean, environmentally friendly energy in Illinois."

Phil Gonet, director of the Illinois Coal Association, also was on hand for Gov. Blagojevich's visit to Washington County. Gonet said the proposed project is the biggest of its kind in the Midwest and one of the largest overall nationwide.

"There is no plant in the Midwest that exists today that is this large and there is no plant in the entire country that has been built in the last 10 to 15 years that is this large. Most of the power plants that have been constructed in the last 10 years are running on natural gas," Gonet said. "So, this is the largest plant in the country that will be operating. This is a huge project for Southern Illinois in terms of jobs for coal miners and people who are going to run the power plant."

Bill Hoback, bureau chief with the Illinois Office of Coal Development, said the fact the project has moved along as far as it has is a direct result in the cooperation and hard work of many groups.

"For the state of Illinois this project is huge, but actually for the entire country this is huge because of the technology that is being used," Hoback said. "This is the best technology available and we believe that Peabody is dedicated to continue that. We are excited and look forward to moving this project along. This project has such far-reaching ramifications when you look at spin-off jobs and the materials that will be purchased locally to build this facility. This project will have a ripple effect for the entire state of Illinois."

Rep. Kurt Granberg, D-Carlyle, said the "spin-off" from the 450 permanent jobs also would be a major plus for the entire region.

"For every permanent job you can figure a spin-off of three to four other jobs," Granberg said. "Those numbers are conservative, but the bottom line is that this project can have a huge economic impact on all of Southern Illinois."

Peabody is the world's largest private-sector coal company, with 2003 sales of 203 million tons and $2.8 billion in revenues. Its coal products fuel more than 10 percent of all U.S. electricity and more than 2.5 percent of worldwide electricity.

The Washington County project is the latest mine-mouth project the governor has lauded for Southern Illinois. Last November Blagojevich announced the release of $5 million in funds to conduct a front-end engineering and design study on a project to build a 500-megawatt coal gasification power plant and mine in Williamson County. The study will take about a year to complete and if the feasibility and financing for the project can be secured, the mine and plant could be built in about four years.

The $5 million in funding for the engineering and design study went to Steelhead Energy Co., LLC, to develop the Southern Illinois Clean Energy Center, which will be a coal gasification-based electric generation and substitute natural gas facility. It would be located east of Johnston City where the now-closed Zeigler No. 4 Mine was located. The area is near the Williamson-Franklin county line.

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