FutureGen report

A report on the effort to attract the $1.5 billion FutureGen project to the Odessa site is on the meeting agenda today for the Odessa Development Corp. board.

Odessa Economic Development Director Neil McDonald said he would detail developments for the board that appear to give the Odessa FutureGen site at Penwell a definite advantage in the national competition to host the federal demonstration project being developed by the FutureGen Alliance.

On Friday, FutureGen Texas Director Scott Tinker said the total Texas offer to attract the innovative coal-fired, near-zero emissions power plant amounts to a little less than $1 billion.

The Odessa site at Penwell is one of only four locations in the United States still in the competition for the facility. The others are located at Jewett in East Texas and at Mattoon and Tuscola, both in Illinois.

A final site is to be announced in November by the FutureGen Alliance.

In other action, the board is expected to consider the ODC budget for fiscal year 2007-’08, which calls for proposed revenues of $4,430,000 and expenditures of $1,231,774.

That represents a $89,685 increase over the prior year’s budget, or an increase of 7.85 percent.

Other items on the agenda include:

>> Appointments to the budget finance and audit committee and discussion of the compliance committee.

>> A resolution approving outside consulting and agency contracts.

>> Reports by agencies and committees.