Washington-- U.S. Senator Evan Bayh today announced that the IRS has awarded a federal tax credit to Duke Energy to build a high-tech coal gasification plant in Edwardsport. The tax credit will allow the company to provide the cleanest and most affordable coal-based power available to Hoosier consumers, and will create new markets for Indiana coal, one of the state's most valuable resources. In June, Senator Bayh wrote a letter noting the ways the new plant would benefit Indiana.

"The most effective way to ensure that Hoosiers will continue to have access to clean, affordable energy is to invest in new technologies that use our own resources like coal, which is abundant in Indiana," Senator Bayh said. "This tax credit will add gasified coal power to other sources of homegrown energy, like biodiesel and ethanol, that provide good jobs for Hoosier workers while protecting America's air and water."

In June, Senator Bayh sent Duke Energy executives a letter in support of the company's efforts to secure the tax credit, noting that a coal gasification facility will help address Indiana's growing power needs while also increasing America's ability to compete in the growing global energy market. The company included Senator Bayh's letter its application to the IRS for the tax credit.

Duke currently operates a 160-megawatt coal fired power plant in Edwardsport, where they plan to build the new gasification plant. Coal is America's most abundant energy resource. More than 30 percent of the world's recoverable coal reserves are in America—enough to last several hundred years at the current rate of use.

Senator Bayh has been a leader in the efforts to promote clean coal technology and create markets for coal mined in Indiana. Bayh was an original cosponsor a bill written by Senator Robert Byrd (D-WV) to expand clean coal technology and provide tax credits for companies that upgrade their facilities, the majority of which has been included in every energy bill since 2002. Senator Bayh also sponsored the Energy Security Act which provides tax incentives to encourage the production and use of efficient energy sources, including clean coal technologies.

###