04.24.20

Hoeven: DOE Awards $17 Million to EERC for Project Tundra

Senator Secured CarbonSAFE Funding through Appropriations Committee, Urged Energy Secretary to Advance North Dakota CCUS Project

BISMARCK, N.D. – Senator John Hoeven today announced that the U.S. Department of Energy has awarded $17 million to the University of North Dakota’s Energy and Environmental Research Center (EERC) for Project Tundra, a carbon capture, utilization and storage (CCUS) retrofit project for Minnkota Power’s Milton R. Young station. With this award, Hoeven has secured approximately $43 million for Project Tundra to date.

The funds are provided through the CarbonSAFE Initiative, for which Hoeven has ensured strong funding through his role on the Senate Energy and Water Development Appropriations Committee. Further, Hoeven has repeatedly urged Energy Secretary Dan Brouillette, in conversations, committee hearings and a letter the senator sent in support of EERC’s application, to help advance this CCUS project.

“This award is a tremendous boost to the good work of the EERC and its partners, helping bring Project Tundra significantly closer to completion,”said Hoeven. “The CarbonSAFE Initiative has been one of our key priorities in recent appropriations bills, and we worked hard to ensure these funds would benefit the development and demonstration of this technology here in North Dakota. Efforts like this will help ensure our nation continues to harness all of its abundant energy resources, including affordable, reliable and resilient fuels like coal.” 

“I cannot thank Team Hoeven enough for the support and encouragement that have led to this selection. From the MOU signing with all of the project partners at EERC several years back, to the pre-FEED and FEED awards, and the prior CarbonSAFE award. That groundwork extends all the way back to Senator Hoeven’s incredible leadership and vision as Governor of the Great State of North Dakota. This leadership has been further magnified in his important roles on the Senate Energy & Natural Resources Committee, and the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Energy & Water Appropriations,” said John Harju, Vice President for Strategic Partnerships at the EERC. 

“Minnkota appreciates Senator Hoeven’s leadership and efforts to ensure Phase III of the North Dakota CarbonSAFE project moves forward,”said Mac McLennan, Minnkota President & CEO. “Taking the next step in this research shows that North Dakota is well-positioned to bring a carbon capture and storage facility, like Project Tundra, into commercial operation. We are pleased to continue work with the energy experts at EERC because of their in-depth understanding of our industry and North Dakota’s unique geology.”

Today’s announcement comes as the latest in Hoeven’s efforts to support North Dakota’s development of CCUS technology, which will benefit both traditional and renewable energy sources. To this end, Hoeven continues working to modernize the 48A and 45Q tax credits to help make CCUS projects more commercially-viable. This includes: 

  • Supporting the passage of legislation to reform and expand the 45Q tax credit and urging the administration to release the final regulations to implement the credit, two of which were issued earlier this year, providing greater clarity to developers of CCUS projects.
    • The senator continues pressing the Department of the Treasury for the third and final piece of the 45Q rules as soon as possible and to ensure the tax credit works for both long-term storage and enhanced oil and gas recovery, similar to his CO2 Regulatory Certainty Act.
  • Sponsoring bipartisan legislation to update the eligibility standards for the 48A tax credit, which are not currently technically or economically feasible for CCUS retrofit projects.

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