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Breakthrough energy technology supports coal in the nation’s energy mix

Energy technologies that will help ensure affordable energy production in North Dakota and across the nation are being advanced in Congress.

Sen. John Hoeven spoke at the Central Power Electric Cooperative annual meeting in Minot March 28, outlining his efforts to advance the energy technologies. Hoeven is a member of the Senate Energy and Water Appropriations Committee.

Hoeven secured strong support in the fiscal year 2018 funding bill to support research like that conducted by the Energy and Environmental Research Center (EERC) at the University of North Dakota to develop technologies that empower greater energy production with better environmental stewardship. This includes:

– Carbon Capture and Sequestration (CCS) Research & Development: $199 million.

– Post-Combustion Coal Technologies: $35 million to continue solicitation for two large-scale pilot projects, similar to the $6 million in funding awarded to EERC for Project Tundra in FY2017.

– Supercritical Carbon Dioxide (CO2) Technologies: $24 million to develop technologies similar to the Allam Cycle, for which the EERC received $700,000 in FY2017.

“Our state remains on the cutting-edge of energy research, from basic research in a lab all the way through commercialization,” Hoeven said. “We’re working to support the entire research and development process for CCS technologies. Doing so advances the hard work of EERC and our energy industry, helping them to bring these technologies to market and establishing a stronger energy future for our nation.”

The provisions are part of Hoeven’s work to support a true path forward for coal in the nation’s energy mix. Hoeven reintroduced the CO2 Regulatory Certainty Act, legislation that aligns tax guidelines with existing federal regulations at the Environmental Protection Agency to ensure Carbon Capture and Sequestration project developers can use the Section 45Q tax credit, as well as his legislation to extend the refined coal tax credit.

He is also advancing efforts to reduce emissions from renewable energy sources, like Red Trail Energy’s project to capture and store CO2 from its ethanol plant in Richardton. To this end, Hoeven secured regulatory primacy for North Dakota over Class VI injection wells last year, which are used for the geologic or long-term storage of CO2, the first such approval in the nation. This authority will help advance Carbon Capture and Sequestration projects across the state.

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