Governor Hoeven's Six Pillars
Energy - Empower North Dakota
Governor John Hoeven - 2007 State of the State Address
Our nation today is gripped with the need for more domestically-produced, environmentally- sound energy production. At the same time, North Dakota is the 6th leading energy producing and exporting state in the country, and we have only begun to tap the true potential for our state's varied energy and energy-related agriculture industries.
To realize our full potential, we must look beyond the borders of our state. Our real future in energy is not about what we consume in North Dakota - it's about what we can supply to the nation, a nation that needs more energy and more energy independence.
We must build on our existing production, marketing, finance and tax incentives for energy development, especially in the areas of renewable energy. These have produced a boom in energy production over the past few years. By leveraging our enormous potential for both renewable and traditional energy resources, we can truly make North Dakota a powerhouse for America.
We're making real progress on Traditional Energy and Wind Power
- To fully develop our wind resources potential, we are working to build more transmission by partnering wind and new power plants.
- Through Lignite Vision 21, we are developing new clean-coal power plant projects, coal gasification, and coal-to-liquids, which include carbon sequestration.
- Using our Transmission Authority, we can build the transmission necessary - even if we have to build it ourselves - to develop both more large-scale wind farms and power plants.
- We are working to link new electrical generation to CAPX 2020 to take North Dakota energy to Minnesota and beyond.
- Our new Pipeline Authority, Biofuels PACE, incentives for energy development, and other programs will take us even further.
We're making real progress in the field of Renewable Energy
We've come a long way since 2001 - with nearly $2 billion of investment in renewable energy production.
- Ethanol: With announced new projects, we are boosting our ethanol production from about 30 million gallons a year to more than 440 million gallons.
- Biodiesel: We are bringing our biodiesel production from 0 to 85 million gallons.
- Coal: Currently, we produce more than 4,000 megawatts of electricity a year from coal and hundreds of new megawatts from wind. We have three to four potential new power plants in development, including a coal to liquids facility and a new coal gasification plant.
- Wind: We are boosting our wind capacity. A few years ago, we had no commercial wind facilities at all. With all the new projects in construction or planned, we will have 600 megawatts of wind power online in the near future.
- Oil and gas: With directional drilling, we have boosted our production to more than 113,000 barrels a day on a smaller footprint. New technology has resulted in a more environmentally-friendly operation, with opportunities to sequester carbon. With our new pipeline authority, approved in the last legislative session, we will increase capacity and improve prices for North Dakota producers.
A Comprehensive Renewable Energy Agenda
Working with legislators, elected officials, campus officials and industry leaders, we worked to pass a comprehensive $42 million renewable energy plan to enhance and expand existing programs. These include:
- A $5 million Biofuels PACE Fund, an interest buy-down program for renewable fuels, dairies, ranching operations and E-85 pumps. Biofuels PACE provides $500,000 of interest buy-down for each new biofuels facility in North Dakota. Combined with the regular PACE and local match, the program makes up to $900,000 available to finance each new ethanol or biodiesel project. This is enough leverage to develop 10 major new biofuels projects. Biofuels PACE is targeted to new ventures that are either 50 percent owned by North Dakotans, or 10 percent owned by producers. The program will be available not only for new ethanol and biodiesel facilities, but also for new or expanding dairies and cattle feeders that can use livestock feed, which is a byproduct of these plants.
- A $3 million Renewable Energy Grant Fund.
- A Biomass Demonstration Project.
- $3 million of tradable income tax credits for installation of geothermal, solar and wind energy devices.
- A discount on property taxes for wind generation units from 3 to 1 ½ percent.
- A $7.3 million Governor's Ethanol Production Incentive Fund; counter-cyclical support for ethanol plants.
- A $2.2 million sales and use tax exemption for materials used to construct co-generation power plants in conjunction with value added agriculture projects.
- An incentive to purchase environmentally preferable paper and printing products by the state.
- Expansion of Value Added Agriculture Investment Tax Credits with the potential to generate investments in 10 projects per year, including renewable energy projects. Five projects with $10 million in investments could result in $100 million in projects over the biennium.
- A requirement for ethanol blend pumps to have an ethanol promotion label.
