BISMARCK, N.D. – Gov. John Hoeven, Commerce Commissioner Shane Goettle and members of the industry-based EmPower North Dakota Commission met today in Fargo to kick off the newest round of planning for statewide energy development. The group announced its schedule for a series of statewide meetings to take EmPower ND, the state’s comprehensive statewide energy plan, to the next level.

EmPower ND was created in 2002 and has been expanded and enhanced since. It includes aggressive policy goals and incentives in each energy sector, and emphasizes partnerships between traditional and renewable industries to develop all of the state’s energy resources in tandem.

In 2007, the EmPower ND Commission was established, with members appointed by Hoeven and authorized by the legislature to make recommendations to further enhance the state's comprehensive energy plan. The Commission is comprised of experts representing every sector of the state's energy industry.

“EmPower ND is a comprehensive plan that incentivizes industry to develop all of our energy resources—both traditional sources and renewable sources—in an environmentally sound manner,” said Hoeven. “Our strategic approach to energy development has set the stage for many of the energy projects occurring in our state.”

The plan has resulted in significant partnerships and progress across the state's renewable and traditional energy sectors. Projects that have capitalized on the incentives provided by EmPower ND include, for example, Blue Flint Ethanol in Underwood, the ADM biodiesel plant in Velva, a host of wind farms across the state, horizontal drilling techniques deployed in the Bakken Formation, and carbon capture and sequestration projects conducted by Basin Electric and its Antelope Valley Station near Beulah.

To help meet the increasing need for transmission capacity for electricity and pipeline capacity for petroleum and natural gas, EmPower ND worked with the Legislature and the Industrial Commission to establish a North Dakota Transmission Authority and a North Dakota Pipeline Authority.

Hoeven today also emphasized the importance of establishing a legal and regulatory framework for carbon capture and sequestration, which North Dakota passed in the last legislative session, the first such legislation to be passed in the nation.

“This legal and regulatory framework provides predictability and incentives to companies looking to start or expand carbon capture and sequestration operations in the state,” Hoeven said.

Goettle said nearly 15 pieces of legislation were passed in the last session in support of EmPower ND. These include measures to:

·        Provide a streamlined siting process for pipeline and transmission infrastructure within the same footprint as has been previously approved.

·        Extend the property tax reduction for wind towers.

·        Extend the sales and use tax exemption for wind towers.

·        Extend the income tax credit for renewable energy devices.

·        Improve the oil extraction tax exemption for tertiary recovery using carbon dioxide.

·        Allow beneficiated coal to access the same incentives as non-beneficiated coal.

·        Have the State Water Commission and EmPower ND Commission study the water resources in the state as they related to energy development.

·        Clarify the coal conversion tax exemption for repowering applies to units of a electrical generating plant as well as allowing units that use beneficiated coal.

·        Clarify that the sales and use tax exemption for gas gathering equipment includes natural gas produced from oil wells.

·        Establishment of an Ethanol Council

·        Allow an income tax credit for installation of geothermal energy devices on the form ND-1 income tax return.

·        Establish Blender Pump Grants,

·        Regulate Geological storage of CO2 and ownership of subsurface pore space.

Commission member Mark Nisbet, North Dakota Principal Manager of Xcel Energy, said the state has been proactive in making important energy-related development decisions.

 “Energy companies welcome the kind of partnerships EmPower ND has forged among ourselves and with the state, and as a result, we’re seeing real progress across the energy industry in North Dakota,” Nisbet said. “I look forward to working again with some of the most knowledgeable people in the industry to keep the momentum going.”

The meetings begin today and five others will be held throughout the next eight months to explore each of the energy industry sectors. Commission members will review a SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats) analysis presented by leaders of each sector and ultimately make new policy recommendations for state and federal action to maximize the growth potential of each sector in North Dakota.

For more information listen to 790AM or visit www.kfgo.com

Source: nd.gov, KFGO News Center