Photo: Great River Energy

WASHINGTON, D.C. (NewsDakota.com) – Senator John Hoeven released the following statement after Great River Energy notified its employees that they are entering into formal negotiations to sell Coal Creek Station to a new operator, ensuring its operation beyond 2022. Hoeven has been working with the company to help make it happen and to advance carbon capture and sequestration efforts.

“Coal Creek Station is one of the most efficient power plants in our region, and the employees at both the plant and the Falkirk Mine help keep the lights on with affordable and reliable power. That’s why we have been working over the past year with Great River Energy, North American Coal and our state’s leadership to transition Coal Creek to new ownership, this is a big step and we hope it will be finalized soon.

“At the same time, Coal Creek presents yet another opportunity for North Dakota to crack the code on carbon capture technologies, allowing us to continue utilizing our abundant coal resources while reducing emissions. We continue working to advance these technologies, including enhancing the 45Q tax credit to provide a new revenue stream benefiting our coal-fired generation facilities,” said Hoeven.

Hoeven says carbon capture with the project will also be a focus of the future.

 Additionally, Hoeven has been working to ensure coal’s role as a reliable source of baseload power is properly valued. That includes making the case to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) that the grid is being forced away from baseload resources like coal and outlining the need to maintain diverse sources of electricity.