The North Dakota energy industry is well positioned to take a leading role in developing clean coal technologies that protect the environment, according to U.S. Sen. John Hoeven (R-ND), who is seeking federal government support to advance key energy projects in the state.
“North Dakota’s coal-fired electric industry has always been a leader in terms of deploying new technologies that produce more energy and do it with good environmental stewardship,” Hoeven said in a recent interview with the Ripon Advance.
Hoeven and North Dakota energy industry executives recently met with U.S Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz to pitch a $1.1 billion clean coal technology project in the state known as Project Tundra.
Minnkota Power Cooperative, Allete Clean Energy, BNI Energy, and the University of North Dakota’s Energy and Environmental Research Center have signed a memorandum of understanding outlining the partnership, with a goal of securing federal funding to help develop and deploy clean coal technologies.
The consortium plans to submit a competitive bid to a U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) request for proposals issued in the future, Hoeven said.
As part of the Senate’s Energy and Water Appropriations bill that Hoeven helped to pass in May, $30 million in funding is available for developing commercially viable carbon capture and sequestration technologies, such as with Project Tundra. The bill also directs the DOE to enter into a request for proposal process.
“I’m hopeful it will pass the House,” Hoeven said of the appropriations bill. “I think we’ll have it by next year and then I would expect that not too long after that the DOE would go forward with the request for bids. It is somewhat dependent on the timing of the legislation.”
Hoeven said that North Dakota’s energy initiatives received a positive response from the DOE.
“This is exactly what they want,” Hoeven said. “They want industry players who have both the financial strength and the technology. This is really how we move forward with clean coal technology with the companies that are actually investing in it.”
Project Tundra will focus on developing new full-plant scrubbing technologies to retrofit existing plants to capture CO2, which can then be sequestered or used in enhanced oil recovery.
Another innovative initiative in North Dakota focused on new power plants is the Allam Cycle pilot and demonstration project, which is being worked on by the University of North Dakota, Basin Electric and Allete. The Allam technology uses CO2 to generate electricity and can be used to reduce carbon emissions in coal and natural gas production.
Hoeven, as a member of the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, also worked to help the Senate pass the Energy Policy Modernization Act, S. 2012, the first major energy legislation in nearly a decade.
The Senate and House have convened a conference committee to work out differences between each competing version of the energy bill. Conference work began this summer and will continue after Congress returns to session in September.
“I think there is a chance of real movement in September,” Hoeven said.
Hoeven has four pieces of legislation included in the Senate-passed version of the energy bill, including one that would streamline and expedite permitting oil and gas projects when they have a minority interest and no surface rights. North Dakota has three million stranded acres where oil development is held up due to delays at the Bureau of Land Management.
Another bill would improve the energy efficiency of federal buildings by allowing the continued use of fuels like natural gas, which would otherwise be phased out by 2030.
Hoeven also authored legislation that would reduce the cost to homeowners for updating their furnaces to energy efficient gas furnaces.
“It will save people huge amounts of money in terms of remodeling costs,” Hoeven said.
Among the provisions drawing bipartisan support is a bill introduced by Hoeven and U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) that would create a new pilot program at the DOE to provide matching grants up to $200,000 to non-profit organizations to help make buildings they own and operate more energy efficient. The legislation authorizes $50 million in retrofitting grants over the next five years.