Peabody Energy said Monday that the air permit for the Prairie State Energy Campus was unanimously affirmed by a three-judge panel from the Seventh Circuit of the U.S. Court of Appeals. The Prairie State Energy Campus is a $2 billion, 1,600-megawatt power plant and coal mine project in Lively Grove, Ill., being developed by a consortium of Midwest utilities, including St. Louis-based Peabody Energy.

The court's decision means that Prairie State's advanced technologies will meet or exceed compliance with state and federal regulations to protect the environment. The decision ends a six-year regulatory review process that included approval by the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

Prairie State will provide electricity to hundreds of communities from Missouri to Virginia. Equity partners include: American Municipal Power- Ohio; the Illinois Municipal Electric Agency; Indiana Municipal Power Agency; Kentucky Municipal Power Agency; Missouri Joint Municipal Electric Utility Commission; Northern Illinois Municipal Power Agency; and Prairie Power Inc.

St. Louis-based Peabody Energy (NYSE: BTU) is one of the world's largest coal producers.