SPRINGFIELD -- Officials hoping to build an experimental power plant in Mattoon are in talks with state officials aimed at keeping the coal-fired facility on track.

FutureGen Alliance CEO Michael Mudd visited the Capitol Wednesday for a series of meetings that included talks about whether energy created at the proposed plant could be purchased and used to power state facilities.

Among those he met with were state Sen. Dale Righter, R-Mattoon, and state Reps. Chapin Rose of Mahomet and Brandon Phelps of Harrisburg. Mudd also made a stop on the floor of the Illinois House.

The facility was awarded to Mattoon in 2007, but was shelved by the Bush administration. It was brought back to life in June by the U.S. Department of Energy.

The facility is supposed to create electricity without the pollutants associated with coal-burning power plants.

Carbon dioxide generated by the plant will be stored, or "sequestered," underground, rather than being released into the atmosphere.

The facility is backed by state and local officials because it will create an estimated 700 construction jobs and 100 permanent jobs and use Illinois coal.