Heitkamp Underscores Need to Support Coal Innovation, Local Job Growth During Spiritwood Station Visit

Press Release

U.S. Senator Heidi Heitkamp today visited Great River Energy's (GRE) Spiritwood Station to see firsthand how, in two years since becoming fully operational, the high-efficiency coal-fired power plant generates electricity and steam to power homes and businesses in North Dakota while making serious reductions in emissions.

Heitkamp played a key role in getting Spiritwood Station and the Dakota Spirit AgEnergy plant online by enabling the project to move forward after it hit some hurdles. When it started operation in 2014, Spiritwood Station became the first coal-fired generating plant to go online in North Dakota in more than 30 years.

Heitkamp has long supported energy innovation in North Dakota to provide a strong path forward for coal -- which North Dakotans rely on for almost 80 percent of their electricity -- while working toward commonsense incentives to encourage new carbon technologies that can transform carbon emissions into useable products. During today's tour, Heitkamp spoke with GRE management and Spiritwood Station workers to discuss the plant's successes in coal innovation by helping boost local plant energy efficiency to 60 percent -- that's almost 30 percent better than the national average -- while employing 49 North Dakotans locally.

"We can spark energy-efficient innovation, grow jobs here at home, and pave the way for a strong future for coal -- and Spiritwood Station is a perfect example of how we're doing that in North Dakota," said Heitkamp. "Today I got the chance to see firsthand how in just two years, Spiritwood is not only boosting the community's local economy by employing almost 50 North Dakotans, but serving as a national example of achieving better energy efficiency for coal-fired power plants at a rate that is nearly double the national average of coal-fired plants. We can build on Spiritwood's positive work, and I'm working to do that in the U.S. Senate by bringing together a strong bipartisan coalition of senators who support my bill to secure coal's role in our national energy mix. Such commonsense policies would lower pollution, create more jobs, and support more affordable energy production to power our homes and businesses."

After working together with Sens. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) and Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV) to boost recognition that the U.S. and world need to maintain a diverse energy mix that includes traditional energy sources while still reducing national and global carbon emissions, Heitkamp and Whitehouse introduced their bill in July to forge a middle ground on energy issues. Already, their bill -- which would incentivize the development and use of carbon capture, utilization and storage technologies -- has gained vast bipartisan support in the U.S. Senate.

Background:

Heitkamp's work to find a realistic path forward for coal builds on her more than a decade of experience on the board of directors of Dakota Gasification, the one-of-a-kind synfuels plant in Beulah, N.D. During her service as North Dakota's Tax Commissioner, on the North Dakota Industrial Commission, and as the state's Attorney General, Heitkamp was able to work on viable solutions to make sure coal remains a strong part of the North Dakota's energy mix.

Since joining the Senate, Heitkamp has been committed to finding a realistic avenue for clean coal by:

Securing a commitment in September 2015 from Janet McCabe, assistant administrator of the EPA, for her agency to send technical staff to North Dakota to work with utilities on the challenges in meeting EPA's emissions reduction targets. During a meeting with the North Dakota congressional delegation the next day, McCabe again agreed to Heitkamp's request that EPA technical staff visit North Dakota.

Introducing major legislation in 2013 and again in 2015 to put coal on a viable path forward. Heitkamp's bill -- which she introduced in 2013 and again this Congress -- would incentivize companies to invest in technologies that reduce the carbon footprint of coal-fired power. This is done through federal funding programs, federal support for private investment, and recommendations to Congress that provide insight on how best to support future CCS projects in the U.S. Then in May 2015, Heitkamp and Senator Joe Manchin from West Virginia introduced a series of bills to make sure coal remains a key part of America's energy mix, which incorporated Heitkamp's initial legislation.

Bringing EPA Administrator to North Dakota to talk about coal. Heitkamp has made it clear to the Administration and EPA that she disagrees with the agency's policies regarding coal-fired power. After pressing EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy, Heitkamp brought McCarthy to North Dakota in February of 2014 so she could hear about the impacts of EPA regulations directly from North Dakotans. Heitkamp has also brought U.S. Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz to North Dakota in August 2014 to push the U.S. Department of Energy for more investment in clean coal technology.

Working closely with U.S. Energy Department (DOE) officials on finding a path forward for coal. Heitkamp has met with numerous top officials from DOE about the need to find a path forward for coal, including Energy Secretary Moniz and Julio Friedmann, the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Clean Coal at the DOE. They both participated in clean coal symposiums at Heitkamp's request, and she will continue to press both of them on the issue.

Convening industry, lawmakers, and academics to discuss a viable path forward for coal. Heitkamp co-hosted a Coal Technology Symposium on Capitol Hill in 2014 that brought together industry, lawmakers, experts and academics -- including the Energy and Environmental Research Center from Grand Forks -- to discuss the importance of finding a viable path forward for coal. To a crowded room, Heitkamp laid out why it is so important for our nation to put in place realistic energy policies and discussed the vital role coal plays in providing affordable energy in North Dakota and around the country.

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