News Releases for September 2007
September 18, 2007
For further information, please Contact the Governor's Office
Hoeven, Energy Leaders Look To Build On Significant Growth Of State's Energy Industry
Energy 2007 (2.6Mb ppt)
BISMARCK, N.D. – Gov. John Hoeven today told the state’s new energy policy commission members that North Dakota’s existing state energy policy, Empower ND, is aggressively moving both renewable and traditional energy development forward, , but that we must be committed to doing even more. North Dakota is the sixth largest energy producing and exporting state in the country.
The Empower North Dakota Commission has been appointed by Hoeven and authorized by the legislature to make recommendations to further enhance the state’s comprehensive energy plan. Hoeven addressed the 14-member committee, which held its first meeting today at the state Capitol. He provided them with an overview of Empower ND, the state’s current multi-resource energy policy, which was established in 2002 and has been enhanced and expanded since.
Empower ND includes aggressive policy goals and incentives in each energy sector, and emphasizes partnerships between traditional and renewable industries. The plan has resulted in significant partnerships and progress across the state’s renewable and traditional energy sectors.
“This is about working with a panel of experts from every sector of the energy industry,” Hoeven said. “In the last 6 years, our efforts to develop our energy resources have helped fuel economic growth throughout the state and this panel of experts has the expertise and experience to take us to the next level.”
The Governor highlighted a number of innovative energy projects including combined-use energy parks that partner both renewable and traditional sources of energy in exciting new ways. Significant investments in all sectors of the energy industry are underway.
- Four years ago, North Dakota had only two small ethanol facilities and no biodiesel facilities. Today, existing and planned facilities will produced ½ billion gallons of ethanol and 85 million gallons of biodiesel annually.
- Four years ago North Dakota produced less than 1 MW of wind power. Today, current and projected projects will produce up to 900 MW of wind power.
- New major CO2 capture and sequestration projects are in development.
- The oil industry is producing 123,000 barrels a day, near record production.
- Four major projects are underway as a result of the state’s Lignite Vision 21 program, including potential power plants in South Heart and Gascoyne, a coal liquefaction facility in McLean County and a combined-use energy plant in Spiritwood.
Hoeven also outlined a number of key state and federal policy issues he believes are vital to future energy growth, including state and federal rules and incentives for CO2 sequestration; building on our renewable energy incentives; and enhanced transmission and pipeline capacity.
Shane Goettle, director of the Department of Commerce, will chair the commission, and meetings will be held around the state to gather public input. Commission members include:
- Shane Goettle, Commissioner of Commerce
- Mark Nisbet of Xcel Energy representing the wind industry
- Randy Schneider chairman of the North Dakota Ethanol Producer’s Association
- Dale Niezwaag of Basin Electric Power Cooperative representing generation and transmission electric cooperatives
- Ron Day of Tesoro representing the refining or gas-processing industry
- Terry Goerger, a farmer near Mantador, representing the agriculture industry
- Paul Goulding of Goulding’s Oil representing petroleum marketers
- Eric Mack of Archer Daniels Midland representing the biodiesel industry
- Ron Ness of the North Dakota Petroleum Council
- Andrea Stomberg of MDU representing investor-owned utilities
- David Straley of North American Coal Company representing the lignite coal industry
- John Weeda of Great River Energy representing the biomass industry
- Sandi Tabor of the Lignite Energy Council
- Chuck McFarland of Otter Tail Power Company, Ex-Officio
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