North Dakota Commerce Commissioner Josh Tiegen said the world needs to come to grips with the fact that wind and solar are not the answer, and that fossil fuels will be needed for generations to come.

Tiegen, the keynote speaker at this week's annual meeting of the Western Dakota Energy Association, explained that intermittent forms of electric generation are not only unreliable, they're not all that environmentally friendly. 

"There's no technological advancement that can solve for the fact when the sun doesn't shine and the wind doesn't blow," Tiegen said. "Those are environmental barriers, not technological barriers."

Tiegen said environmental activists seem willing to sacrifice the surface of the earth in favor of the atmosphere.

"If you actually look what goes into a wind turbine, it's latent with fossil fuels, from the fiberglass that makes the blades, to the resins that holds it together, to the concrete it sits on," Tiegen said. "The actual materials and the carbon impact of those materials is astronomical." 

Tiegen pointed out wind turbines kill more than 100,000 birds annually, but said environmentalists will attempt to argue that house cats kill more than a billion birds every year. 

"Well, the birds that the wind turbines kill are not your sparrows and robins, they're your eagles and owls, and I don't know any house cats out there that are taking out eagles and owls," Tiegen quipped.

He said a similar story applies to solar panels, the ill effects of which their supporters conveniently ignore.

"The actual inputs to a solar panel is the most carbon-intensive way to power something, bar none, hands down," Tiegen said. "Nuclear is the least, solar is the absolute worst offender."

Backers of wind and solar also contend that batteries will soon solve the problem of intermittent generation, but Tiegen said current reality indicates that will never happen.

Click here to listen to Tiegen's comments.

Several European nations have embraced intermittent wind and solar in an attempt to replace fossil fuel generation, but Tiegen said Germany, for example, now pays some of the highest rates for electricity in the world. And to make matters worse, he said the refusal of European countries to develop fossil fuels puts them at the mercy of Vladimir Putin for natural gas, creating a possible scenario in which people will freeze to death this winter.

Click here to listen to Tiegen's comments.

Tiegen said a power plant such as Coal Creek Station when equipped to capture carbon dioxide emissions "has a way lower environmental impact than all the solar farms in the world, and by the way it generates 45 times more power." He said "fossil fuels are here to stay," and that reality will propel the rest of the world into the next era of power generation."

Attendees at this week's annual meeting of the Western Dakota Energy Association learned of plans to build the North Plains Connector, a 370-mile high voltage direct current transmission line that would connect eastern and western electric grids in Montana and North Dakota.

Brant Johnson, who leads the project for Grid United, an independent transmission company, told WDEA members that it represents a $1.5 to-2 billion investment in the two states. The proposed route would extend from an existing substation in Colstrip, Montana, to an existing substation in Center, ND, and a new substation in Morton County.

Johnson said the company's business plan for making money on the project is still coming together.

Click here to listen to Johnson's comments.

Johnson said the project will improve grid resiliency and provide economic benefits through tax revenue, landowner payments, and job creation. In response to demand, he said the line will be able to transport power in either direction east or west. Johnson said that Grid United has been holding meetings throughout the pipeline route to identify potential obstacles to approval.

Click here to listen to Johnson's comments.

Johnson said to date, Grid United has obtained permission to survey 92 percent of the land along the proposed route, and its flexible approach to siting is building support for the project.

Click here to listen to Johnson's comments.

Johnson said the company hopes to have a final route by the second quarter of 2023, after which permit applications would be filed leading to development of an environmental impact statement which is expected to take at least two years to complete. He said construction would begin after approvals in 2025 or 2026, and could be in operation as early as 2028.

Click here to see the North Plains Connector website.

A panel of legislators and school administrators discussed possible ways to address inequities in school construction costs during this week's annual meeting of the Western Dakota Energy Association. 

Alexander School Superintendent Leslie Bieber moderated the discussion that included Senator Don Schaible from Mott, Williston Rep. David Richter, Garrison Superintendent Nick Klemisch and Dickinson Asst. Superintendent Keith Harris.

Bieber, who is also a WDEA board member, said her district is planning a 14-classroom addition and the cost is being estimated at $500-to-$525 per square foot. But she said similar projects in eastern North Dakota are estimated at between $300 and $400 per square foot. She asked panel members if they had any ideas for addressing the disparity.

Harris pointed out it's not only the cost of construction, but differences in size of the local tax base also make it more expensive for local taxpayers. He pointed out that a recent $100 million bond issue in West Fargo cost homeowners only about $17 per $100,000 of property valuation, but that an $87 million bond issue in Dickinson would have cost homeowners $200 per $100,000 of valuation. Harris said the state's low interest loan program for school construction helps, but comments he's received indicate the public expects the state to provide more direct support.

Click here to listen to Harris' comments.

Schaible, who chairs the Senate Education Committee, said many factors have to be considered in efforts to create equity in the cost of construction. He noted in his hometown Mott-Regent School District, about 85 percent of the cost of a bond would be borne by owners of agricultural property. Schaible said previous legislation to create state grant programs for schools "have had some resistance and I'm not sure that's going to change."

Likewise, Richter said a bill he introduced to make it easier to pass a bond issue by lowering the required approval margin from 60 percent to 55 percent, "had about a second and a half of debate on the floor" before it went down to defeat. He said there may be ways to make better use of in-lieu-of-revenue such as the gross production tax for construction. 

Klemisch noted that the Garrison district has had seven failed bond issues in recent years. He said part of the problem is the district boundaries encompass many of the homes built along the shore of Lake Sakakawea, the owners of which declare it their primary residence so vote in the district, but have no real ties to the community and don't want their taxes to increase.

Crude oil production in North Dakota remained steady in the month of August, averaging 1.073 million barrels a day, just a few hundred bbl/day more than the July figure. 

In his monthly news conference to announce production figures, Lynn Helms, director of the Department of Mineral Resources, said there was some good news. He said both the production figure and the average price received by producers exceed the state legislature's forecast.

Click here to listen to Helms' comments.

Despite the flat line in August, Helms said there's been a steady stream of newly completed-wells, so he does expect a slight production increase in the September numbers.

Click here to listen to Helms' comments.

Helms said the downside is a report that the Bureau of Land Management is preparing to issue a new gas venting and flaring rule by the end of the month. North Dakota has previously sued over the BLM rule, arguing that it's unnecessary and duplicative because the state has its own flare mitigation regulations. Helms said he expects additional litigation over the new rule, as well as the Biden's administration's ongoing refusal to conduct lease sales for production on federal lands.

Click here to listen to Helms' comments.

Helms also described three different pilot projects underway in horizontal Bakken wells using rich gas injection for enhanced oil recovery.

"We're very confident, as are the folks at EERC, that over the next 10 years, someone's going to figure out the code to do enhanced oil recovery in the Bakken and Three Forks," Helms said.

Click here to read or download Helm's October Director's Cut.

Dunn County Commissioner Craig Pelton and Dickinson Assistant Superintendent Keith Harris were elected to the Executive Committee of the Western Dakota Energy Association at its annual meeting this week in Watford City. 

Pelton was first elected to the county commission in 2014 and is seeking re-election this fall. He operates a farm/ranch operation with his son and daughter northwest of Halliday, and is a former member of the county planning and zoning board. Pelton has also served as a volunteer firefighter for 38 years, and is a former board member of the West Bend Fire District. He was also involved as a 4-H leader for more than 20 years. Pelton fills a position on the WDEA board left vacant by Daryl Dukart, who chose not to seek re-election this year.

Harris has 26 years of experience in education and has been an administrator for 22 years. He fills a position on the Executive Committee left vacant earlier this year by the resignation of Beth Zietz from New Town. Harris has served as a building and district administrator in Idaho, Wyoming and North Dakota. Harris received his B.S. degree in Political Science and History from Weber State University and his MA and Ed.S. Degrees in Educational Administration from Idaho State University. 

Stanley City Councilman Zach Gaaskjolen, who is employed with Brosz Engineering, was also re-elected to another three year term on the Executive Committee.

Dunn County Commissioner Daryl Dukart was presented with WDEA's Outstanding Public Service Award this week, in recognition of his years of service to the association and to counties throughout North Dakota.

Dukart joined the WDEA Executive Committee in 2014 and served as board president in 2016-17. He has been a member of the Dunn County Commission since 2010, has been a board member of the ND Association of Counties, and represented the state with the National Association of Counties.

Presenting the award during WDEA's annual meeting was Senator Rich Wardner, who was the first recipient of the award in 2017. Wardner called Dukart "a man of reason," and praised him for his considerable resumé of community and state involvement. Dukart is a member of the ND Oil and Gas Research Council, serves on the Killdeer Area Ambulance Board, and is Education and Meeting Planner for Dunn County Energy Development. He has also been involved in 4-H, FFA, local school board, Rural Fire Protection Board, Church Board, Hospital Board, the ND Board of Animal Research, a board member of the ND Pork Producers Council, Dunn County Farm Bureau Board and the ND State Board of Animal Health. 

In accepting the award, Dukart said even though he's retiring from the county commission, he intends to remain actively engaged and encouraged others to do so as well.

Click here to listen to Dukart's comments.

On the final day of a weeklong trade mission to Japan, Governor Doug Burgum and Sumitomo Corporation President and CEO Masayuki Hyodo celebrated the recent signing of a memorandum of understanding (MOU) between the State of North Dakota and Sumitomo Corporation of Americas (SCOA).

Burgum and fellow members of the North Dakota delegation met with Hyodo, Sumitomo leaders, and representatives from SCOA at the global firm’s headquarters in Tokyo. The MOU, first signed in September, aims to create a partnership which will evaluate and develop businesses within the energy transition market with the intent to accelerate decarbonization in North Dakota and beyond. As he did when he first signed the MOU, Burgum noted that North Dakota is a powerhouse in agriculture and energy, with strong sectors in advanced manufacturing and technology as well, all supported by a stable tax and regulatory environment that makes the state ideal for developing new businesses.

“We’re committed to partnering with the private sector to grow and diversify our economy, and SCOA is well-positioned to help North Dakota create the infrastructure necessary to support clean energy initiatives,” Burgum said. “This partnership has great potential to enhance our research and development, evaluation and business modeling in this sector, and to accelerate our progress as we continue to develop clean energy sources and move toward carbon neutrality by 2030.”

Under the MOU, both parties will study a wide variety of possibilities including development of sustainable aviation fuel, CCS/CCUS projects, hydrogen/ammonia, geothermal energy, agriculture optimization and digital transformation. 

See September’s MOU signing announcement here. 

ND Department of Transportation (NDDOT) Deputy Director of Engineering Ron Henke was appointed to lead the department this week by Governor Doug Burgum.

In his announcement, Burgum cited Henke’s knowledge of the state’s transportation infrastructure, long history of service to the state and leadership on many NDDOT initiatives over the years.

“Ron Henke has proven himself to be a highly capable, forward-thinking, well-respected leader in the ND Department of Transportation, and we are excited to welcome him as the department’s next director,” Burgum said.

Henke’s appointment is effective immediately, after having served as interim NDDOT director since September 9 when previous director Bill Panos resigned. Henke joined NDDOT in 1990, serving as director of operations and project development, as well as in other capacities including design, construction, planning and programming. As deputy director of engineering, he oversaw operations, project development, pre-construction, construction and maintenance.

Henke grew up on a farm in central North Dakota. He earned bachelor’s degrees in construction management and construction engineering from NDSU. He is a registered professional engineer in North Dakota with a background in field construction, statewide operations, planning and programming of projects, budget, environmental document preparation and plan development.

After nearly six years of service as the state’s Chief Information Officer, Shawn Riley has resigned, announcing his plan to join Bitzero International as its new CEO of American operations.

Riley was appointed CIO in March 2017, having served in IT leadership positions for 17 years. The positions include section head of information technology for Mayo Clinic and CIO and chief technology officer within the Mayo Clinic Health System.

“Shawn embodies the term ‘transformational leader,’ and the positive impacts of his leadership on innovation, technology and cybersecurity will be felt in North Dakota IT and across our state for years to come,” Gov. Doug Burgum said.

During Riley’s tenure, North Dakota became the first state to authorize a central, shared service approach to cybersecurity across all aspects of state government, protecting a statewide network that has roughly 252,000 daily users across over 400 entities. State government alone defended itself against an average of 4.5 billion attacks per day last year, including K-12, higher education, and all those touching the state network.

Riley’s resignation will be effective December 2. Burgum has appointed Deputy CIO Greg Hoffman to serve as interim CIO and lead the ND Information Technology department while a search is conducted to fill the CIO position.

Baylee Carr is proof that “the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.” A process operations field technician at Dakota Gasification Company, he is one of three generations in his family that has worked at the Great Plains Synfuels Plant over the past 50 years.

Carr’s grandfather, Larry Carr, was the first of the family to find work at Dakota Gas. He worked as a supervisor from 1983 until 2001 when he retired. He was also involved in the research to help build Dakota Gas.

Mike Carr, Larry’s son and Carr’s father, worked at Dakota Gas from 1984 until 2013. He worked in operations as a field technician for the duration of his career, the same position that Carr has today. “My dad was always a hard worker and took his job very seriously,” says Carr.

While Carr always respected and appreciated what his family did, being employed at Dakota Gas and working in the gas and oil industry was not always part of his plan.

Originally from Hazen, Carr went to school at University of North Dakota in Grand Forks where he played college football. He went on to coach collegiate football at both University of North Dakota and University of Mary in Bismarck, but he realized he wanted to be doing something else with his career.

After studying process plant technology online through Bismarck State College, his love for the Hazen/Bismarck  area made him decide to settle down. As fate would have it, the first job offer he received out of college was at the very place his father and grandfather worked. “I thought that was really cool considering the family history,” he says. 

Carr started working at Dakota Gas in 2018 and now works as an operator in the fertilizer section. His daily tasks include taking readings on pumps and vessels, loading urea trucks, shipping products by railcar, and tackling any other issues there may be in the unit.

“It definitely means a lot to me to be working at the same place my father and grandfather worked. I would say the one word that comes to mind is thankful. They definitely had an influence on the decision to choose this career path,” he says.

Carr believes the influence was happening subconsciously at the time, but his mother argues that she always knew he would follow his father’s career path one day.

Happy memories of Dakota Gas as a kid may have also been an influence. Carr recalls going to Family Night at the All Seasons Arena in Hazen. “I remember as a child, I enjoyed these evenings with my family as well as seeing all of my friends that had family members that also worked for DGC (Dakota Gas),” he says.

Now an adult, Carr is thankful for the opportunity to make a good living at the same place that provided for his family as a child.

“With my father working here for 30 years, I was well aware of the opportunity to make a good living while working for Basin,” Carr says. “Sometimes a job can be looked at as just that, but in reality, a job at Dakota Gas has provided for generations for the Carr family, and working for a good employer truly means everything.”

Story originally published by Basin Electric.

State School Superintendent Kirsten Baesler is inviting North Dakotans to take part in drafting new revisions of North Dakota’s English/Language Arts academic content standards. 

“We welcome and encourage public participation in the writing of these standards,” Baesler said. “These standards will benefit from having many pairs of eyes to look them over.” 

Content standards are concise, written descriptions outlining the knowledge and skills students are expected to know and do at a specific stage of their education. They illustrate what students have learned upon completing a grade level. The academic standards do not describe particular teaching practices, curricula, or assessment methods. North Dakota English/Language Arts content experts have been working to refresh the existing standards, which were written in 2017, and have a first draft available for public comment.

North Dakotans may review and comment on the new draft standards through the Department of Public Instruction’s website via comment form. Additionally, Baesler is forming a statewide committee of North Dakota community leaders as part of the standards-writing process. Individuals interested in serving on the standards review committee can apply online until Monday, October 24. The panel will review the drafts of the standards and give their opinions to the writing committee, with the first meeting to be held December 7.

The Department of Public Instruction’s website has a listing of the English/Language Arts writing committee members, who are North Dakota educators from across the state. The standards writing committee will review comments from the public and the citizens’ review committee and consider any suggested changes. 

Two new training courses aimed at continuing the mission of a safer and more efficient oil and gas training process are underway in the Bakken.

ONE BASIN One Way! (OBOW), offered through the North Dakota Petroleum Council, is an orientation program that covers safety orientation for all participating Williston Basin producers. OBOW courses eliminate the need for contractors to attend orientations at every site where they work. Training provides a North Dakota based viewpoint on the hazards found in the Williston Basin. According to the NDPC, more than 40,000 workers have been trained since the program’s launch three years ago.

The new course offerings are H2S Certification and Respiratory Protection Training and OBOW Year 3 - Communication and Hazard Assessment. The courses are endorsed by the NDPC with the knowledge they are a cut above other training. 

“We knew now was the time to develop safety champions in the oil and gas industry,” said NDPC President Ron Ness. “Our ONE BASIN - One Way! Year 3 course will create safety leaders on the well pad, in the truck and at their family table.” 

Ness says the development of H2S Training came as a direct result of listening to their customers who work in the Bakken. With the new H2S course being added, companies can take just one day of training to bundle their ANSI-required H2S training with their OBOW Orientation or OBOW Year Three course. 

“The ability to compound an employee’s training into one day creates a more focused educational opportunity. This new H2S course does not just meet industry standards, it exceeds them, creating a safer North Dakota,” says North Dakota Safety Council Executive Director and CEO Chuck Clairmont. 

Courses are offered in person in Bismarck, Dickinson, Fargo, Minot, Tioga, and Watford City. Private classes are available upon request as well as options for distance learning. Safety First training providers are North Dakota Safety Council and TrainND Northwest.

Find out more about ONE BASIN One Way! here.

Enroll in a course here.

The state’s home energy assistance program is now accepting applications for families in need of help this upcoming heating season.

The Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) helps eligible families with home heating and weatherization costs. The program partially pays the cost of natural gas, electricity, propane, fuel oil, coal, wood or other fuel sources, along with the costs associated with heating a home. LIHEAP also covers weatherization services, furnace cleaning, repair, replacement, chimney cleaning and inspection, and emergency assistance.

Applications were available as of October 1 and will be accepted through May 31, 2023. They may be submitted online, by mail, and locally at a human service zone office. Additional program information and the application may be found here. 

Eligibility is based on a household's income, which must be at or below 60 percent of North Dakota’s median income to qualify. Income limits based on the household size will also be applied. LIHEAP is available to both homeowners and renters living in the state. For those tribal members living on reservations in North Dakota, assistance will be available through tribal LIHEAP programs. 

North Dakota Health and Human Services offers additional assistance to qualifying families. Find the full list of programs here.