BISMARCK, N.D. – Gov. Doug Burgum today applauded the U.S. Department of Energy’s decision to award a $350 million Carbon Capture Demonstration Projects Program grant to Minnkota Power Cooperative for its proposed carbon capture project at the Milton R. Young Station near Center.
The major DOE grant comes after the North Dakota Industrial Commission, chaired by Burgum, approved a $150 million loan in July for the Minnkota project through the state’s Clean Sustainable Energy Authority. The loan will be furnished by the Bank of North Dakota and is in addition to a similar $100 million loan approved by the Industrial Commission in 2022. The Industrial Commission previously approved $15 million from the state’s Lignite Research Fund to help pay for front-end engineering and design for the CO2 capture project.
“The technology being developed for Minnkota’s project has the potential to be a game-changer for our state, the nation and the world by curbing emissions and ensuring that the reliable, affordable energy we’ve come to expect from coal continues to keep the lights on,” Burgum said. “We’re grateful to the Department of Energy and North Dakota’s congressional delegation for supporting this promising technology, which will benefit consumers, the environment and the coal and oil industries that provide thousands of good-paying jobs and economic development resulting in billions of dollars in tax revenue to our state and local governments. Today’s announcement is another major step toward making this vision a reality with support from the state, feds and industry.”