JILL SCHRAMM/MDN Jessica Bell, vice president of External Affairs with Rainbow Energy, spoke to the Minot Area Chamber EDC’s Energy Committee Monday, April 13.

It’s all about diversification at Rainbow Energy Center. By the end of the decade, the completion of a natural gas pipeline to the center between Washburn and Underwood is expected to open even more doors for Rainbow Energy, a power company that already has seen opportunities with biofuel, coal ash byproducts and a data center.

Jessica Bell, vice president of External Affairs with Rainbow Energy, spoke to the Minot Area Chamber EDC’s Energy Committee on Monday, April 13, to share the company’s plans for growth.

Rainbow Energy produces electricity at its coal-fired Coal Creek Generation Station for sale to distribution companies, Bell explained. Coal Creek, the pillar of Rainbow Energy Center, produces 1,200 megawatts of power.

Rainbow’s partners include Falkirk Mine owner NACCO Natural Resources, which provides Coal Creek with 7.5-8 million tons of lignite coal each year.

Partners also include data service provider Adakon Energy Solutions, a crypto mining facility that operates on 225 megawatts but can handle power interruptions. Bell said the facility acts like a battery that enables Coal Creek to operate at maximum capacity regardless of the demand from the electrical market.

ECO Material Solutions markets the plant’s fly ash for concrete. Those sales preceded Rainbow Energy’s purchase of Coal Creek in 2022, but Rainbow is building a facility to grind and sell bottom ash on site. It is the first of its kind in North Dakota, with the only other U.S. facility in Texas, Bell said.

Also located at the center is Blue Flint Ethanol, which uses some of Coal Creek’s steam in producing more than 70 million gallons of ethanol annually. It also captures its carbon dioxide and stores it in Rainbow’s pore space.

Carbon capture is a well researched topic for Rainbow Energy as well.

“We know how to store it. We’re working on how to utilize it in the Bakken, and we know how to capture it at Coal Creek Station,” Bell said of carbon dioxide. “We have the technology. We know how much it costs. We’re ready to do it if we need to, but we won’t do it unless it makes business sense or if we are forced to do it.”

Along with its readiness for carbon management, Rainbow Energy is looking to expand its generation capacity with natural gas.

“We are looking for someone to sign up for a power purchase agreement,” said Bell, who noted Rainbow Energy expects to have 2.1 gigawatts of power available, or more than 2,000 megawatts.

“We have a lot of different growth opportunities. We can drown in opportunity if we want. We always have to remember that we have to stay focused on what our main objectives and goals are, and right now, that would be growing into natural gas generation,” Bell said.

The natural gas supply would come in through a 36-inch pipe over 136 miles from the Bakken. It is expected to be in service by 2029. Bell said Rainbow Energy is looking for other potential natural gas users to share in the construction cost and the gas supply.

Rainbow Energy also has its eye on growing its data center partnerships.

“If you love coal, you’ve got to love data, because that’s going to be the way of the future to keep our coal facilities open in this country,” Bell said.

Additionally, Rainbow Energy wants to expand its existing Nexus line, a type of line that reduces electrical loss in transporting energy to the grid.

“And we’re looking at different ways that we can develop our critical minerals. They’re both within the coal and around the site,” Bell said.

About 600 people are employed at the plant and mine, she said. Rainbow Energy has added about 60 employees since purchasing Coal Creek in 2022 from Great River Energy.

“That number, we hope, will only grow with additional opportunities. And they are careers. They are not just jobs,” Bell said.

Coal Creek Station has a $1.5 billion annual economic impact on North Dakota, she added.

“Maybe we will double or triple that in the next decade,” she said. “That’s the goal.”