The Prairie State Coal Fired Powerplant being built in Washington County, Illinois by Peabody Coal is making good progress. Here is an update from The Southern.



Here is the project's webpage. The power will go to the Midwest, but much of it looks to be going east to Indiana, Ohio, Kentucky, Michigan, etc. Some will serve Missouri and Illinois, including some metro-Chicago markets. It is expected to employ 500 permanent positions.



The cooling tower is rising now. I am not sure how far away folks will be able to see it, but I would imagine pretty far and some of the Metro East will be able to see it. Freeburg, for instance, will probably be able to see the tower itself. More importantly, though, will be the smoke from the tower which should be visible from most of the southern Metro-East area. I would imagine the smoke will be visible from the Arch in the mornings and evenings. I have seen the smoke from Baldwin frequently in the evenings and this should be a similar distance away.



Anyway, a new addition (although an arguably not so pleasant one) to the skyline is making significant progress now.

This is a good thing. Coal is a huge part of the Southern Illinois economy and it has taken a hit ever since the switch to low-sulfur or whatever it was. I don't really know the specifics, just know that it was bad for the area. It's good to see this progress.

There are some construction photos posted on their website. The tower is getting taller. The mass of cranes is sort of a cool sight. Wish we saw more of this in the region.