04.25.19

Hoeven Outlines Work to Bolster Lignite Industry at Lignite Energy Council Annual Meeting

Senator Secured Funding to Advance Clean Coal Research and Development, Working to Advance His 45Q, 48A Legislation

BISMARCK, N.D. – During a congressional panel at the Lignite Energy Council’s annual meeting today, Senator John Hoeven (R-N.D.), a member of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources and Energy and Water Appropriations Committees, outlined his legislative efforts to bolster the state’s lignite industry and support research and development of clean coal technologies in North Dakota and across the nation. 

“Our lignite industry provides affordable, reliable energy to power our homes, businesses and our economy,” said Hoeven. “Coal is a vital part of our nation’s energy mix, which is why we continue working to develop new technologies and invest in research to ensure the future of this abundant energy resource. Our state is leading the way in developing clean coal technologies, including Project Tundra, a post-combustion technology to retrofit existing power plants, and the Allam Cycle, technology for new coal and natural gas power plants that uses supercritical CO2 to increase efficiency and allow emissions to be captured.”

The Senator highlighted legislative efforts including:

  • Reintroducing Section 45Q Tax Credit Legislation: Hoeven continues working to reintroduce his legislation to make the Section 45Q tax credit more accessible by aligning its tax guidelines with existing federal regulations and to extend the Section 45 refined coal tax credit.
  • Advancing the Carbon Capture Modernization Act: The senator introduced bipartisan legislation to modernize the 48A tax credit for clean coal facilities to better support CO2 capture retrofit projects, like Project Tundra.

As a member of the Senate Energy and Water Appropriations Committee, Hoeven worked to secure Fiscal Year 2019 funding to advance clean coal technologies, including: 

  • $30 million to support the development of commercial-scale carbon capture retrofit technology, funding for which the next phase of Project Tundra would be eligible to help in the initial engineering, testing and design of a commercial-scale, post-combustion retrofit at the Milton R. Young station.
  • $22.4 million to develop supercritical CO2 technologies for coal and natural gas plants like the Allam Cycle.
  • Increased funding for the U.S. Department of Energy’s CCS research programs.
  • A provision supporting DOE’s cooperative agreements with institutions like the Energy and Environmental Research Center (EERC) at the University of North Dakota.

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