GRAND FORKS, N.D. – Gov. Kelly Armstrong today welcomed U.S. Secretary of Energy Chris Wright to North Dakota, highlighting the state’s key contributions to American energy security and shared goal with the Trump administration of U.S. energy dominance.
“As a Top 10 energy-producing state and the nation’s No. 3 oil producer, North Dakota stands ready to partner with the Trump administration and private sector to achieve U.S. energy dominance and provide reliable, affordable energy for all Americans,” Armstrong said. “We appreciate Secretary Wright coming to North Dakota to hear firsthand about our efforts to expand energy production – including enhanced oil recovery using captured CO2 – and strengthen the electric grid with an all-of-the-above strategy that combines baseload generation from coal and natural gas with intermittent renewable energy.”
Armstrong discussed the state’s energy sector during a roundtable with Wright hosted by U.S. Sen. John Hoeven at the University of North Dakota’s Energy & Environmental Research Center. Participants included U.S. Rep. Julie Fedorchak, state Agriculture Commissioner Doug Goehring, North Dakota Department of Mineral Resources Director Nathan Anderson, North Dakota Pipeline Authority Executive Director Justin Kringstad, UND President Andy Armacost, state legislators and energy industry representatives.
North Dakota’s coal, oil and gas industries have new momentum under a Trump administration that recognizes their importance to the nation’s energy security, Armstrong said, noting the White House recently hosted an event promoting coal.
“That mentality shift was like lifting a 5,000-pound weight off the backs of a lot of people here who have made communities in this state really, really viable for a very long time,” Armstrong said, noting the tech sector also is realizing the need for reliable, constant sources of power. “You are not powering a data center or quantum computing or artificial intelligence on wind and solar alone. The models don’t work, the metrics don’t work. So we have a chance to change the narrative … with a business economy that is about to figure out they need an energy policy based on reality and not ideology. And we are so much farther ahead than anywhere else in the country.”
Since Wright was confirmed as Energy Secretary on Feb. 3, Armstrong has actively engaged him on energy issues important to North Dakota, including a call in March in which the governor expressed support for the Grid Resilience and Innovation Partnerships (GRIP) Program funding for the North Plains Connector, a 420-mile high voltage direct current (HVDC) transmission line connecting the U.S. Eastern and Western electric grids in Montana and North Dakota, as well as funding for Project Tundra.