Jill Schramm/MDN Sen. John Hoeven, R-ND, speaks at the joint service club luncheon in Minot Monday. At left is Tom Rafferty, who presided over the meeting.

Technology has made North Dakota an energy leader, and technology can preserve that leadership into the future, Sen. John Hoeven, R-ND, told service club members at a joint meeting of Kiwanis, Sertoma and Rotary in Minot Monday.

“Whether you agree with it or don’t agree with it, this country is now demanding that we reduce carbon emissions,” he said. “We have to see what’s going on in the world, and we have to address it, and we address it through leadership and working together and leading the way with these new technologies.”

He said the industry needs to “crack the code” on carbon capture as it has cracked the code with fracking in the oil industry and sulfur dioxide and nitrous oxide emissions in the coal-burning industry.

“That’s why North Dakota in the last 20-plus years has come so far — because we grab hold of these things,” he said. “We’ve done this before, which is why we have the most advanced industry and why we keep going forward while others have gone out of business. Because we don’t pretend that we don’t have to address the changes and the things that people demand. We lead the way forward with these new technology developments. And it takes the state of North Dakota, the federal government and private industry working together to do those things.”

Hoeven said he has been working to pass federal programs that help with the upfront cost of technologies through tax credits and loan guarantees.

Hoeven added the answer to inflation is increasing the supply to meet demand, including production of North Dakota’s oil and farm commodities.

Hoeven, who is running for re-election on Nov. 8,  said he will be in a key position on the committee writing the next five-year farm bill if re-elected.

“I’m going to write it in a way that’s good for our country but it’s good for North Dakota, good for our farmers,” he said.

Hoeven is being challenged in the election by Democratic-NPL candidate Katrina Christiansen and independent Rick Becker.

Asked about the proposed Chinese corn milling facility, Fufeng, in Grand Forks, Hoeven reiterated his concerns about security and suggested Grand Forks look for an American company for its ag park. The Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States is reviewing the Fufeng project.

Hoeven also cited security concerns in his support for funding Ukraine in its defense against Russia.

“We’re pushing back very vigorously on Russia and China and we need to for the safety and security of not only this country but the world,” he said.