PRINCETON--Legislation signed Tuesday that creates a supply of synthetic natural gas through Southern Indiana coal gasification is a huge step in clean coal technology, says State Sen. Lindell Hume, D-Princeton.

Hume co-authored the bill signed into law by Gov. Mitch Daniels this week. The law allows the Indiana Finance Authority to act as an intermediary contracting partner between gas utilities and the coal gasification plant near Rockport.

The Rockport plant would be the first modern coal gasification plant of its kind in the nation. Daniels says the plant creates 1,000 construction jobs, 200 full-time jobs at the plant and hundreds more coal mining and related jobs.

The governor's office reported the gasification lant would operate with 99 percent less pollutants than a traditional coal plant.

Duke Energy's Edwardsport plant leads the state's technology in producing clean electricity from coal, said the governor. Edwardsport's $2.35 billion plant will turn coal into gas and burn it in turbines to produce electricity.

The Rockport plant will be first in gas from clean coal, he said.

"In concert, these two facilities will make Indiana the world's clean coal leader," said Daniels.

Hume said the new legislation is "win-win-win" for Indiana. "It's something that creates and protects jobs, the cost is lower and it reduces the reliance on other sources for energy," he said.

Hume said the initiative will provide there are ways to convert coal, which is plentiful in Indiana, into a clean energy source. "Those who say there is no such thing as clean coal...it's purely political propaganda," he said Wednesday morning.

The Edwardsport plant, Hume said, will more than likely be using coal produced in Gibson County. "It's definitely a good sign for energy and for our economy."

The governor said Tuesday that federal agencies predict it will be cheaper in the long-run to make synthetic natural gas from coal because the Indiana market for coal is much more stable than natural gas markets.