The US Department of Energy (DOE) has announced plans to revive FutureGen, a commercial-scale coal-fired power plant in Mattoon, Illinois, that would capture carbon dioxide emissions and sequester them underground.

Under George W. Bush's administration, the DOE pulled the plug on the flagship 'clean' coal technology programme in January 2008, citing a dispute with industry partners over the US$1.8-billion price tag (see Nature 451, 612–613; 2008).

Energy secretary Steven Chu revived FutureGen on 12 June, announcing an agreement to restart the negotiations, update the cost estimate and begin preliminary design activities. The DOE and FutureGen industry partners hope to make a final decision on whether to go ahead with the project early in 2010.