Southwest Indiana is America’s advanced coal mecca.

Set against the backdrop of the Illinois Basin and its vast subsurface resources, Southwest Indiana has been a hotbed for the coal industry for decades. Today, the Region has become the epicenter of advanced technology projects that produce energy from coal with dramatically reduced emissions. From the nation’s first coal gasification plant at Edwardsport, to the site of the FutureGen project, to the proposed Denbury pipeline that will transport CO2 to the Gulf Coast for enhanced oil recovery, Southwest Indiana and its surrounding environs have become national and international leaders in the world’s quest for sustainable sources of fossil energy.

Southwest Indiana’s coal legacy includes a dense cluster of more than 70 existing companies serving all ends of the coal industry. From mining and extraction, to transportation, to manufacturing, to electricity generation, Southwest Indiana’s coal businesses form a cohesive ecosystem of companies that reduces barriers and speeds production times.

In addition, the Illinois Basin represents a unique natural resource providing distinct advantages for the Region’s coal companies. Vast recoverable coal reserves remain unexploited, representing hundreds of years of fuel sources for new and existing power plants, while the Basin’s geological characteristics make it an ideal site for long-term carbon sequestration efforts.