North Dakota legislators are considering a resolution for an interim study of "sustainable energy policies," including an examination of advanced nuclear energy development.

The House Energy and Natural Resources Committee heard testimony today on HCR 3034, introduced by Grand Forks Rep. Cory Mock along with four other representatives who serve on the committee. Lobbyists for the Utility Shareholders of North Dakota and Xcel Energy spoke in favor of the resolution.

Pam Gorman Prochaska, Director of Nuclear Regulatory Policy and Strategy for Xcel, told committee members there are several advanced nuclear pilot projects underway throughout the United States. She said she's working with TerraPower on an advanced nuclear reaction project in Kemmerer, Wyoming, that will eventually replace two coal-fired units on the site. She said it's one of several nuclear reactors that will come on-line in the next 8-to-10 years.

Click here to listen to Gorman Prochaska's comments.

Gorman Prochaska said even though the start-up of the new nuclear plants is still nearly a decade away, it makes sense for North Dakota to study the issue because there are many factors to be considered.

Click here to listen to Gorman Prochaska's comments.

The committee took no action on the resolution. 

North Dakota has underground deposits of uranium in several southwestern counties. Mining occurred in the area in the 1950s and 1960s, as well as operations to process the uranium ore to supply various nuclear facilities. Click here for more information from ND Geological Survey. 

A concurrent resolution has has made its way halfway through the North Dakota Legislature, seeking to reaffirm support for the state’s lignite industry, and the jobs, revenue and electricity it contributes.

HCR 3013 would urge the federal government to refrain from enacting regulations that threaten the reliability and affordability of electric power in North Dakota and to increase support for research, development, and deployment for next generation carbon-based energy generation. The resolution would also establish the recognition of “Miner’s Day” on December 6.

The resolution was introduced by Hazen Rep. Anna Novak, who represents District 33 which encompasses the state's three coal-producing counties. Novak used her introduction of the resolution as an opportunity to both outline the importance of the lignite industry to her constituents and thank all of those who support it. 

Click here to listen to Novak’s comments. 

Jonathan Fortner, VP of Government Relations and External Affairs with the Lignite Energy Council, spoke in support of the resolution during the hearing. Fortner said that while the resolution details the contributions of the lignite industry, its real focus is in urging federal leaders to work with the state and industry to enable the continuation of coal-based generation in North Dakota. 

Click here to listen to Fortner’s comments.

Carlee McLeod also spoke in support on behalf of the Utility Shareholders of North Dakota.

“It’s clear that the federal administration does not value the importance of North Dakota’s lignite, natural gas, and oil resources and what they mean to the reliability of U.S. energy demands and U.S. energy independence,” McLeod said. “As a leader in carbon capture research and technology, North Dakota’s lignite industry and its partners should be examples to the rest of the nation how to generate reliable, affordable and clean energy.”

The House adopted the resolution on a voice vote after a unanimous Do Pass recommendation from the Energy and Natural Resources Committee. The resolution is now awaiting a hearing in the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee.

The ND House gave final approval to a bill today that expands the authority of the North Dakota Industrial Commission and the Department of Mineral Resources over various wellhead equipment located on oil and gas well sites.

SB 2058, approved on an 82-3 vote, is intended to address changing technology and unforeseen types of equipment that are now being found on oil and gas producing sites such as data centers using flare gas in bitcoin mining operations. The bill would provide DMR's 42 field inspectors flexibility in cooperating with landowners and operators, which could include farmers and ranchers temporarily leaving ag-related equipment at a well site. 

Lynn Helms, director of the Department of Mineral Resources, spoke to both the House and Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committees surrounding the need to assign jurisdiction to address this issue, which is unique to North Dakota's wells. 

Click here to listen to Helms’ comments. 

Stanley Senator Jordan Kannianen summarized the benefits offered by the new technology and equipment now found throughout the state's oil fields in his remarks on the Senate floor.

Click here to listen to Kannianen’s comments. 

An amendment to the bill was proposed to preserve primacy granted to the Department of Environmental Quality, stating that nothing in the bill may be interpreted to modify or supersede requirements related to the federal Clean Air Act or Clean Water Act. 

Dave Glatt, Director of the DEQ, spoke to the necessity of the department’s proposed amendment.

Click here to listen to Glatt’s comments. 

The bill will allow DMR to prohibit operators from using temporarily abandoned well pads as storage sites by allowing DMR to require operators to remove junk equipment. 

The ND Public Service Commission has scheduled four hearings over the next two months on a proposed pipeline that would transport carbon dioxide from 32 ethanol plants to be sequestered underground in Mercer or Oliver Counties.

The first of the hearings on Summit Carbon Solutions' project is set for March 14 at the Heritage Center in Bismarck. Additional hearings are planned in Gwinner, Wahpeton and Linton.

Summit's application to the PSC totals 3,122 pages. The document includes extensive environmental, biological and cultural resource studies, as well as detailed maps of the proposed route. In addition to obtaining PSC siting approval, the company will also need a permit from the ND Industrial Commission for underground storage in Mercer and Oliver counties.

Summit Carbon Solutions is partnering with 32 ethanol plants in the Dakotas, Iowa, Minnesota and Nebraska to develop the largest CO2 capture and storage project in the world. The pipeline network will cover about 2,000 miles, and represents a total investment of $4.5 billion, nearly $900 million of which is in North Dakota. Upon completion, a study by Ernst & Young indicates the project will contribute an average of $465,000 in new property taxes annually to every North Dakota county in which the project is located.

Click here to see the PSC hearing notice with dates and locations of the four hearings.

Basin Electric is set to begin construction on a series of natural gas generators near Williston that will deliver 583 megawatts of additional generating capacity.

Pioneer Generation Station Phase IV, Basin's largest generation project since the 1980s, will consist of six reciprocating internal combustion engines and two combustion turbines that will be supplied by the technology group Wärtsilä. The fast-starting and stopping ability of the technology allows full output to be reached in just minutes, which ensures a stable electric supply regardless of weather conditions.

“Pioneer Generation Station Phase IV will serve the growing needs of the cooperative’s members with reliable, affordable, and responsible electricity," said Todd Telesz, Basin Electric CEO and general manager. "Load forecasts show member cooperatives will require more electricity by 2025.”

The facility received a Certificate of Site Compatibility from the ND Public Service Commission last month. Other permits from the state and Williams County are in process, pending approval. Contractors mobilized in late February, and site work is slated to begin by mid-March. Foundation work, initial generation equipment assembly, and above-ground building construction are also slated for the 2023 construction season.

The Wärtsilä equipment is scheduled for delivery in early 2024, and the units are planned to be in service between 2025 and 2026.

The North Dakota Senate has given final approval to legislation that directs the ND Department of Transportation to study the possibility of an electronic vehicle charging tax to offset lost revenue from gasoline taxes.

HB 1081 will examine revenue lost from out-of-state drivers using roads within the state. Dickinson Senator Dean Rummel said the study will look at the loss of gas tax revenue, as well as implementation of an electronic charging tax to make up for it.

Click here to listen to Rummel's comments.

Rummel said it's important that the costs of EV infrastructure pay for themselves, and are not subsidized by other electric consumers in the state.

NDDOT has done some preliminary research into the impacts of the increasing number of electric vehicles. North Dakota owners of passenger EVs pay a $120 annual registration fee, which is roughly equivalent to the estimated $104 in tax paid annually by drivers of gasoline-powered vehicles. However, the estimates also indicate the average commercial truck generates $1,090 in fuel taxes, so the revenue loss will be substantially higher per vehicle than that of passenger vehicles.

North Dakota has been allocated $25.9 million over the next five years to fund up to 80 percent the cost of EV charging infrastructure in the state. Funding comes from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law passed in 2021 that appropriated a total of $5 billion to state departments of transportation for the development of DC fast charging infrastructure.

The ND Legislature is considering a bill that would amend eligibility for state-issued school construction loans to clarify they can be applied to building fund bonds, not just voter-approved bond issues.

Scott Wegner, bond counsel to the state’s school districts, provided testimony in support of the bill during this week’s Senate Education Committee hearing. Wegner said legislation passed in 2015 requires publication of tax impact information in the notice of a school bond election and posting on the school district website as an eligibility requirement for a state loan.

The problem, he said, is that the 2015 statute has been interpreted as limiting state loans to school districts issuing general obligation bonds, thus excluding building fund bonds. Wegner said HB 1161 corrects the disparity by requiring the same public notice information be published when districts issue building bonds. 

Click here to listen to Wegner's comments.

Wegner said there is no reason to require school districts using building fund bonds to borrow at higher market rates than those with voter-approved bond issues.

The Senate Education Committee gave the measure a Do Pass recommendation. It previously passed the House on a 91-0 vote.

Senator John Hoeven has reintroduced the Bureau of Land Management Mineral Spacing Act, which seeks to streamline and improve the permitting process for energy development, remove duplicative regulations and better respect the rights of private mineral holders. 

The legislation would remove the BLM permitting requirement in instances when less than half of the subsurface minerals within a drilling spacing unit are owned by the federal government, and the federal government does not own or lease any surface rights within the impacted area. It allows the federal government to receive royalties from energy production within the particular drilling or spacing unit and subjects energy producers to all state laws and regulations governing energy activity.

“The Biden administration continues to block federal oil and gas permitting and leasing, costing Americans good-paying jobs while increasing prices at the pump,” Hoeven said. “Our legislation provides needed regulatory relief by cutting back on the duplicative and costly BLM permitting process, removing the need for a federal permit when the federal government has no surface rights and only a minority share in the subsurface minerals."

The bill is cosponsored by Senator Kevin Cramer, Wyoming Sen. John Barrasso and Montana Sen. Steve Daines.

“The Biden administration’s illogical energy policies set producers back, drive price hikes for every American, and punt supply-side opportunities overseas,” Cramer said. “This bill chips away at excessive federal permitting and leasing regulations by leaving it to the expert state agencies when the federal government isn’t the majority owner of the minerals. North Dakota’s excellence shouldn’t be impeded by Washington’s mediocrity.”

“We applaud Senator Hoeven’s efforts in bringing regulatory certainty to our industry,” said Ron Ness, president of the ND Petroleum Council. “We need to let the states take the lead in the permitting process when the federal government doesn't have a majority of the mineral interest. Local control always leads to more production and greater energy security for our nation.” 

With funding from a federal grant, Bismarck State College plans to offer a free two-week training session later this month that would provide students a foundation to start a career in the oil and gas industry.

This basic training will allow attendees to gain the technical expertise required to become a laborer, floor hand or roustabout. It would offers students the opportunity to gain entry-level employment in an oil and gas career that could lead to future career options within the ranks of service and energy companies.

The two-week certificate (80 hours) will be a combination of classroom, hands-on and simulated instruction at BSC’s National Energy Center of Excellence and Mechanical Maintenance facilities. Instruction will cover more than a dozen training modules that include:

• Introduction to the Oil and Gas Industry
• Safety and Health First Aid
• Hand and Power Tool Identification
• Measurements and Equipment
• Parts Identification
• Preventive Maintenance and Lubrication
• Piping, Tubing and Hose Connections
• Basic Mechanics
• Fall Protection Principles
• Basic Rigging, Equipment

There are abundant job opportunities in the oil and gas sector.  ND Job Service indicates that roustabout is one of the fastest growing careers in North Dakota with an increase of almost 1,000 jobs expected by 2030. Paired with labor force exit openings and occupational transfer openings, it adds up to more than 4,600 open jobs in North Dakota.

The training will be offered March 20-31. Click here for additional information, or contact BSC at 701-224-5651.