The week of March 11, as the leader of the Lignite Energy Council, I had the opportunity to testify before the Minnesota House Energy and Climate Committee about our association's opposition to the Clean Energy First Act. The legislation would require 100 percent of Minnesota's electricity be from carbon-free sources by 2050.
I shared our concerns and urged working together to help solve shared issues related to carbon emissions.
Our members currently provide affordable, reliable, and dispatchable electricity from North Dakota's lignite coal reserves while maintaining North Dakota's status as one of only 14 states recognized by the Environmental Protection Agency as a clean air state. North Dakota has demonstrated it is possible to have clean air, clean water, and clean electricity from coal as part of a balanced portfolio of energy resources.
North Dakota's lignite power plants are quite simply the most affordable sources of thermal-baseload, dispatchable power in the entire regional electricity market. The most recent pricing data shows North Dakota's lignite plants cheaper than even gas and nuclear power plants - while being required to reclaim the land to the highest agricultural standards.
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Furthermore, unlike wind and solar, coal is available 24/7/365, in any and all weather.
It's no secret North Dakota and Minnesota have had disagreements regarding our respective energy policies. But our past contention doesn't have to color our future together. We recognize that people crave reliable power for their homes, affordable power for their businesses, and responsible power for entire economies. We also all agree that we want clean air, clean water, and a clean environment.
Once we agree on such goals, we can plan on how to meet them. Specifically, we see the goal that Minnesota has contemplated regarding lower carbon-dioxide emissions and tell you that we can help. A few of our members have been taking the lead on research and development for a carbon-capture retrofit known as Project Tundra. The members of the Lignite Energy Council support that work (we are a funding partner), but it is just one project we are excited about that will reduce carbon dioxide and make our plants more efficient.
As chairman of the Lignite Research Council, one of the largest research-and-development programs in the country, I can offer significant resources and expertise to the goals we know we share with Minnesotans. We know we can serve the needs of current customers while planning for the needs of future generations.
However, that work is threatened by the mandates included in Minnesota's proposed Clean Energy First Act that would force unproven technology into the marketplace where the costs and risks would be borne by ratepayers.
If Minnesotans want to reduce carbon dioxide, the Lignite Energy Council can help in a way that is seamless to consumers, painless to the economy, and harmless to the environment.
Jason Bohrer of Bismarck, N.D., is president and CEO of the Lignite Energy Council, a regional trade association supporting the lignite coal industry and its partners. Council members include mining companies and other major users of lignite-generated electricity, synthetic natural gas, and other valuable byproducts. He wrote this for the News Tribune.
