blog posts

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  PRI scientists bring expertise to study of critical interfaces

  Nov 16, 2020 8:30 am

  PRI scientists from the Illinois State Water Survey and Illinois State Geological Survey are part of a collaborative project to study “critical interfaces” in the environment.

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  ISGS updates Illinois sinkhole data

  Feb 11, 2021 4:45 pm

  The Illinois State Geological Survey (ISGS) now provides up-to-date downloadable data about sinkholes for the entire state of Illinois. This replaces the previous ISGS GIS dataset of statewide sinkhole areas, which was published in 1997.

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  PRI leads campus collaboration with ORNL geothermal energy technology

  Mar 20, 2023 8:00 am

  The Prairie Research Institute (PRI), Student Sustainability Committee (SSC), Facilities & Services (F&S), Illinois Water Resources Center (IWRC), Institute for Sustainability, Energy, and Environment (iSEE), the College of Agricultural, Consumer, and Environmental Sciences (ACES), and the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) gathered on Feb. 27, 2023, to break ground on installing an underground thermal battery (UTB) at the Energy Farm in Urbana, IL.

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  ISGS project will seek valuable elements, minerals from coal and coal waste

  May 20, 2021 3:00 pm

  The Office of Fossil Energy within the U.S. Department of Energy has selected to award nearly $1.5 million to the Illinois State Geological Survey for a project that will evaluate the availability of valuable rare earth elements and critical minerals in coal and coal waste streams in Illinois and nearby states. 

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  Groundwater experts help industries and nature preserves thrive

  Jul 7, 2022 8:00 am

  ISGS and ISWS began monitoring the intersections between industry and the state-protected nature preserves in 1998, letting science and groundwater testing lead the way. Then-graduate student Randy Locke embarked on what was intended to be a two-year groundwater monitoring project; that project is now in its 24th year and has expanded to 414 dedicated nature preserves across 62,270 acres in Illinois.

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  A geothermal exchange system on the U of I campus proves its benefits

  Aug 24, 2022 8:00 am

  Last year, a multidisciplinary team of scientists and engineers helped build a geothermal exchange system to heat and cool a new building at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (U of I), saving electrical usage and marking another step in the quest for a carbon-neutral campus. This type of heating and cooling system is also used successfully in homes, businesses, and industry, according to Illinois State Geological Survey (ISGS) scientist Andrew Stumpf.

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  DOE funds Illinois rare earth project to reclaim mine waste, boost U.S. clean tech leadership

  Oct 7, 2024 8:00 am

  The IRENES project, funded by the U.S. Department of Energy, is advancing the recovery of critical minerals from coal mine waste to strengthen U.S. energy security. By developing a domestic supply of these essential materials, the project reduces reliance on foreign sources, supports clean technology innovations, and drives economic growth in underserved regions. It offers a practical solution to pressing energy and environmental challenges, making it a strategic investment for sustainable growth.

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  PRI tapped to lead feasibility studies for three regional Direct Air Capture (DAC) hubs

  Oct 5, 2023 8:00 am

  This once-in-a-generation investment in infrastructure will support efforts to build a clean and equitable energy economy that achieves a zero-carbon energy system by 2035 and to put the United States on a path to strengthen energy prosperity and achieve net-zero emissions economy-wide by no later than 2050. 

  PRI is specifically tasked with executing feasibility and pre-feasibility studies of potential DAC Hub locations, ownership structures, business models, CO2 storage/utilization option(s), and technology partner(s) outlined in the following stage 1 of potential multi-stage projects in Illlinois, Colorado, and Florida.

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  Three new DOE-funded PRI projects set to design energy storage systems for power plants

  May 7, 2021 10:15 am

  It is challenging to integrate renewable resources into the distribution grid of fossil-fueled power plants when energy is most needed. The results are often intermittent and unpredictable, which makes it difficult to match energy demand with supply.

  In three new U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)-funded projects, scientists in the Prairie Research Institute will design systems and explore the feasibility of combining the use of renewable and fossil energy sources to ensure both short and long-term reliability in electric power delivery.

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  PRI selected to lead feasibility studies for three Regional Direct Air Capture (DAC) Hubs

  Aug 15, 2023 8:00 am

  PRI was selected to lead an effort to promote promising technologies that can capture carbon dioxide (CO₂) from the atmosphere and store it underground at three different sites in Illinois, Colorado, and Florida. Read the full announcement from the Department of Energy (DOE) here.

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  Multimillion-dollar project investigates potential CO2 storage at Heidelberg Materials’ cement plant in Mitchell, Indiana

  Feb 22, 2023 3:30 pm

  With $8.9 million in funding from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Carbon Transport and Storage CarbonSAFE Program, the Illinois State Geological Survey (ISGS), part of the Prairie Research Institute (PRI), is leading a two-year project to explore the feasibility of safely storing more than 50 million tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) over 30 years captured from the Heidelberg Materials cement plant in Mitchell, Indiana.

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  Prairie Research Institute scientist to serve on White House task force on carbon capture and storage

  Apr 21, 2023 3:30 pm

  Sallie Greenberg, a principal research scientist at the Prairie Research Institute (PRI), has been selected as a member of one of the two new White House Council on Environmental Quality task forces to guide the development of carbon capture, utilization, and sequestration (CCUS) technologies in the United States. 

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  Remembering Dr. Hannes Leetaru

  Jun 5, 2023 1:45 pm

  It is with immeasurable sadness that we share that Hannes Leetaru passed away on May 31st. "Hannes was perhaps the most committed scientist that I have encountered to the ideals, goals, and philosophy of what a geological survey embodies and the impact that it has on both the scientific community and the social community that it directly and positively impacts," said Dick Berg, State Geologist and Director of the Illinois State Geological Survey (ISGS).

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  Going beyond the surface

  Nov 18, 2020 8:00 am
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  ISGS receives $10 million in funding for abandoned mining site research

  Aug 26, 2024 3:00 pm

  The Illinois State Geological Survey at the Prairie Research Institute recently received a $10 million award to inventory abandoned mining sites that could be reclaimed to improve community safety and the environment in Illinois.

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  DOE funds ISGS work on carbon storage

  May 1, 2020 11:15 am
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  Mahomet Aquifer Protection Task Force issues recommendations

  Jan 9, 2019 4:45 pm

  A task force formed by the Illinois General Assembly to identify gaps in protection of the Mahomet Aquifer has issued its final recommendations. Illinois State Water Survey hydrologist George Roadcap served as a member of the task force, and other Prairie Research Institute scientists provided data and expertise to support the group’s yearlong effort.

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  A helicopter above Champaign County will explore an aquifer below ground

  Nov 10, 2022 10:45 am

  Beginning on Nov. 19 and extending for a few weeks, Champaign County citizens will spot a curiosity flying in the sky above: a helicopter towing a large coil frame hanging from long cables. Helicopter flights are part of an Illinois State Geological Survey (ISGS) project to map and better understand the Mahomet aquifer within the county.

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  Carbon capture collaborations lead clean energy drive

  Jun 30, 2020 8:00 am

  The Prairie Research Institute — is leading a drive to implement CO2 removal strategies, an essential step to a clean-energy future. 

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  Buying a home in Illinois? You'll need PRI for that.

  Feb 6, 2020 1:00 pm

  For every Illinois home sold, the Prairie Research Institute provides data needed for banks, title companies, insurance companies, and consumers to make informed decisions about home ownership. 

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  ISGS combines innovation and expertise in carbon storage

  Nov 3, 2020 8:00 am

  For almost 20 years, PRI’s geologists and engineers have been developing methods for the safe capture, storage, and utilization of CO2 from power plants and industrial operations. This has been in response to federal and state laws requiring reductions in CO2 emissions, as this byproduct of power generation has a direct link to atmospheric greenhouse gasses and climate change. 

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  DOE awards $25 million to PRI for design of innovative power plant

  Nov 11, 2020 12:45 pm

  The U.S. Department of Energy has awarded $25 million to a three-year project led by the Prairie Research Institute that will design a next-generation power plant in Springfield, Illinois. The innovative plant design combines multiple techniques to both reduce emissions and capture and re-use carbon dioxide.

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  Data from landmark Illinois Basin carbon storage project are now available

  Mar 10, 2022 8:30 am

  The first-of-its-kind Illinois Basin – Decatur Project (IBDP), which concluded in 2021 after successfully demonstrating the safe geologic storage of carbon dioxide, is releasing data sets in two easily accessible locations.

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  "It was a bad day for Peoria County about 450 million years ago."

  Nov 12, 2019 6:00 am