October 9, 2020 -- Virtual Reality

At least two serious players have expressed interest in purchasing and continuing to operate Coal Creek Station, a massive lignite-fired electric generating plant located between Washburn and Underwood.

John Weeda, director of the ND Transmission Authority, said he's been communicating with entities that are interested in purchasing the coal plant and its associated direct current transmission line, and said he fully expects "there will be offers tendered in the very near future."

State officials have been actively pursuing options to keep the 1,151-megawatt facility in operation since its owner Great River Energy announced earlier this year it intends to shut down both units of the plant by the end of 2022. GRE officials intend to replace the generation with power from wind farms, and said they will sell the plant "for a dollar."

Weeda, in a presentation this week to the annual meeting of the Western Dakota Energy Association, said at least one of the buyers would not only keep the existing plant in operation, but is considering expanding the facility which could mean an investment of up to $2 billion.

Click here to listen to Weeda's comments.

Weeda told WDEA members with spot market prices on the MISO grid running at $20 per megawatt hour or less, it's unlikely that another plant like Coal Creek will be built anytime soon. He said many wind projects are also currently stymied because "the grid is full," meaning there is little available transmission capacity to export electricity. But Weeda said because North Dakota has some of the best wind resources in the country, more development is likely if and when transmission becomes available.

Click here to listen to Weeda's comments.

In a presentation earlier this week to the legislature's interim Energy Development and Transmission Committee, Weeda said it would be possible to move power from Coal Creek Station to the west, but that it would require additional investment in transmission.

Click here to listen to Weeda's comments.

Weeda said there were several other buyers interesting in purchasing just the 436-mile DC line that runs from Coal Creek to the Twin Cities area. But he said they would use it to move power from wind farms on the line, and the coal-fired power plant would be shut down.

Click here to see Weeda's slide presentation to the EDT Committee. Click here to read an article about the EDT Committee discussion in the Bismarck Tribune.

The ND Public Service Commission should have more authority to consider big picture issues associated with the possible closure of existing coal plants and the siting of new wind farms.

That was the message from McLean County States Attorney Ladd Erickson in remarks this week to the interim Energy Development and Transmission Committee. Erickson said the announcement that Great River Energy planned to close Coal Creek Station set off a frenzy among wind and solar energy developers to lease parcels of land in McLean County and neighboring Mercer County because they saw an opportunity to get their electrical output on the DC power line now used by the coal plant.

Erickson said the leasing activity, much of which would have been on land with underground lignite reserves, prompted both counties to enact local measures to slow down the process, primarily to protect the operation of existing coal mines and power plants.

Click here to listen to Erickson's comments.

Erickson said the planned closing of Coal Creek Station that led to the leasing activity created a situation he believes would be better addressed at the state level before the Public Service Commission.

Click here to listen to Erickson's comments.

Erickson didn't go into detail, but he said the ND Legislature should also consider a mechanism to allow coal facilities to obtain competitive financing. He said the anti-fossil fuel divestiture movement has made it very difficult for the coal industry to obtain capital to improve their facilities.

Click here to listen to Erickson's comments.

Click here to view legislative video of Ladd Erickson's presentation to the interim committee. His remarks begin at 10:57:22.

One of the two projects developed by the Department of Mineral Resources to help retain an oil industry workforce in North Dakota cannot be completed by the end-of-the-year deadline to use the federal coronavirus relief funds that support it, but the director of DMR has another idea for use of the funds to create jobs in the Bakken.

In remarks during WDEA's annual meeting this week, Lynn Helms said he has submitted a plan to repurpose the funds to provide a financial incentive he hopes will lead to completion of 80 more oil wells by the end of the year.

Helms said he expects the state will finish an abandoned well-plugging program that used $33 million in federal CARES Act dollars, but he said a separate reclamation program on those same sites will be halted with the arrival of winter weather, potentially leaving $16.9 million on the table. As an alternative job creation proposal, Helms would like to offer companies an incentive to complete some of the more than 800 DUCs - drilled but uncompleted wells - in the Bakken.

Click here to listen to Helms' comments.

Helms said he has commitments from three companies that would take advantage of the incentive to complete 58 DUCs, and believes there would be enough interest from others to complete 80 new wells.

Click here to listen to Helms' comments.

Helms said because of low oil prices, companies are completing only about 30 wells per month. But he said if 80 more wells are completed, it would create 500 to 1,000 jobs on frac crews, put money in the pocket of water supply and disposal operations, and create 100-to-200 long term jobs to maintain the additional new wells. Helms said the new wells would also help stabilize production levels, which are expected to decline in the absence of significant drilling activity.

Helms urged WDEA members who like the idea to urge the Governor Burgum, the Office of Management and Budget and members of the Budget Section to support the repurposing plan.

A standardized safety orientation program that was developed for employers in the Bakken will soon be put to use by the oil and gas industry in the Permian Basin.

ND Petroleum Council Vice President Kari Cutting said about 20,000 individuals from nearly 2,000 different companies have gone through the training at seven separate locations since it began 15 months ago. Cutting said employers report that the program is saving them money and getting their new personnel on the job faster.

Now, word has traveled to Texas about the success of the program. Cutting said industry members in the Permian Basin were working to standardize safety training, but will borrow North Dakota's plan instead.

Click here to listen to Cutting's comments.

Training curriculum is designed to raise safety awareness on more than 40 topics, plus focus on a number of North Dakota specific job hazards that are not covered by traditional orientation programs. Statistics indicate that more than half of ND industry safety incidences are transportation related, so the training places particular emphasis on transportation safety awareness.

Click here to learn more about One Basin One Way.

Louisiana Congressman Steve Scalise told members of the North Dakota Petroleum Council this week to question statements made by Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden regarding his support for the oil, gas and coal industries.

Scalise joined ND Congressman Kelly Armstrong, who also shared his views with NDPC membership during the council's virtual annual meeting on Wednesday. Scalise, who serves as House Minority Whip, the second highest position in House Republican leadership, said during the presidential debates candidate Biden was less than honest about his position on energy.

Click here to listen to Scalise's comments.

As party whip, Scalise formed the House Energy Action Team (HEAT) to provide factual information to counter what he called "crazy" proposals like the Green New Deal, which envisions a future without hydrocarbon fuels.

Click here to listen to Scalise's comments.

Scalise reminded NDPC members of a period during the Obama administration when drilling was shut down in the Gulf of Mexico. He said if Biden is elected, he will "kill the energy industry."

"Joe Biden isn't going to be calling the shots," Scalise said. "He can say whatever he wants about fracking, all the people around him are against fracking. What do you think is going to happen?"

Click here to read Joe Biden's plan for "a clean energy revolution and environmental justice."

Click here to read the Trump Administration's plan for a clean environment.

Williams County Commissioner David Montgomery and Stanley Public School Superintendent Tim Holte were elected this week to serve on WDEA's Executive Committee.

Montgomery replaces Doug Nordby, who chose not to seek re-election to the McKenzie County Commission, while Holte fills the seat vacated by Gary Wilz, who retired this year as superintendent of the Killdeer School District.

Montgomery is a lifelong resident of Williston and Williams County, and has served on the county commission since 2004. He is also also a board member of the ND County Commissioners Association. Montgomery retired from Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Dakota in 2013. He and his wife, Carol, have been married 42 years as of November and have two daughters and six grandchildren.

Holte grew up in Stanley and is a graduate of Stanley High School. After college graduation he worked in government and private business for seven years before entering the field of education. Holte was a teacher and principal in Rock Lake, ND from 2007 until the school closed in 2011. He then served as secondary principal and superintendent in Powers Lake until 2013, when he returned home to become the superintendent in Stanley. He also serves on the board of directors of North Dakota Small Organized Schools, and served as mayor of Stanley from 2002-06 and on the Stanley City Council from 2012-2020.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has awarded the North Dakota Agricultural Weather Network (NDAWN) a $6.4 million, five-year contract to retrofit existing weather stations and build new stations across North Dakota.

NDAWN, which is part of NDSU's Agricultural Experiment Station, consists of 159 stations distributed across North Dakota and border regions of surrounding states. They monitor and record local weather conditions throughout the state and the Red River Valley, and disseminate, detailed, accurate information through an array of applications that are free to everyone on the NDAWN website. WDEA has worked closely in partnership with NDAWN in the development of the Wise Roads project.

The contract is part of a larger, five-state project focused on weather monitoring in the Upper Missouri River Basin that will improve the data available for water management by the Corps of Engineers. One of the many variables the project will record will be the moisture content in every snow storm in areas where the data is currently unavailable.

“The one climate element that we have the least amount of data on is the moisture content in snow,” said NDAWN Director Daryl Ritchison. “Every storm, you will hear about the total depth from numerous sites, but it’s not the depth but the amount of water in the snow that is the most important in spring flood forecasts.”

In addition to the service it provides to agricultural producers, NDAWN data has other uses, including weather forecasting/research, government policy decisions, natural resource management, utility planning and operation, claims adjusting, and road management.

Two western North Dakota economic development professionals were recognized by Gov. Doug Burgum for their outstanding performance during challenging times at this week's Main Street Summit.

Shawn Wenko with Williston Economic Development was named Economic Developer of the year in the urban community division. Wenko’s successful projects include providing startup manufacturing costs for Flowcore Systems, a chemical injection and water treatment automation solutions company; securing capital for Wellspring Hydro, a state-of-the-art chlor-alkali facility; and securing capital for Yellowstone River Beef, a meat processing plant. Wenko has worked in the Williston office since 2008.

KayCee Lindsey, director of the Divide County Job Development Authority, was recognized in the rural community division. Lindsey’s successful projects include a 12-unit Housing Incentive Fund project, the $1.3 million expansion of the Crosby Kids Daycare Center, and securing funding for Divide County’s only primary sector business - In the Potter’s Hand, a specialty skin care product manufacturer. She has been employed with the Divide County JDA since 2010.

Three finalists in each category were also recognized for their achievement in economic development. The other finalists for the urban community division were Brad Barth, Devils Lake, and Ryan Jilek, Stark County Development Corporation. The other finalists in the rural community division were Dennis Lindahl, Tioga Area Economic Development, and Paul Gunderson, City of Harvey. 

The Governor’s Choice Economic Development Awards are presented annually through a collaboration between the ND Governor’s Office, the ND Department of Commerce and EDND.

Three North Dakota students pursuing careers in an energy-related field will receive a $1,000 scholarship from the Western Dakota Energy Association.

The winners were announced this week at WDEA’s virtual annual meeting:

The scholarships are funded by revenue from advertising royalties received from Basin Bits magazine as well as sponsorship revenue from WDEA's annual meeting.

The fall issue of WDEA's semi-annual magazine Basin Bits will soon be arriving in mailboxes throughout North Dakota, the United States and Canada.

The cover story of this issue describes the oil industry's efforts to recover from the drop in crude prices associated with the Saudi-Russia price war and demand destruction related to the COVID-19 pandemic. The image on the cover provides a distant look at one of the few drilling rigs still operating in North Dakota, numbers of which are not expected to rebound until demand returns to normal.

The fall issue also includes articles describing how western North Dakota communities are responding to the sudden loss of significant oil tax revenue; the planned closure of Coal Creek Station and efforts to find a new owner, school funding issues in the Bakken region and the work of an interim legislative committee to resolve them; a summary of the recommendations arising from a study of TENORM - technologically-enhanced naturally-occurring radioactive material - commissioned by WDEA; and the latest developments with WDEA's Wise Roads weather station project.

Click here to see an on-line flip version of the magazine. Readers can also click here to view or download a PDF version of the fall issue.

Vision West ND will host a conference later this year to bring together community leaders and professionals working with youth and adults who suffer from mental and behavioral health issues related to the use of illegal drugs, opioids, and alcohol.

The conference was originally scheduled for April but was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The event is now planned to be held in a virtual format and is scheduled Nov. 30 - Dec. 2.

“Today, many in local government, private business and within families, must deal with behavioral health issues like addiction, stress and depression," said Vision West Administrator Deb Nelson. "The energy growth in western North Dakota brought the issue to the forefront, and the concern has become even greater with the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.”

To deal with these issues, Vision West ND partnered with USDA Rural Development to sponsor the Summit on Behavioral Health in Energy Country. Two pre-conferences will be held November 30:

The conference will include an outstanding selection of speakers covering the following topics:

Organizing Committee Chair Daniel Kelly urges all agencies, organizations, schools, businesses, health care providers, and local government to register. Businesses and communities in western North Dakota are also urged to consider being a sponsor to help cover the cost of the event. Click here for more information or to register or become a sponsor. Anyone with questions about the event can call Daniel Kelly at 701-842-3000 or send him an email.

The North Dakota Motor Carriers Association will be offering a webinar later this month to explain compliance requirements for new Hours of Service regulations that took effect Sept. 29.

The new rules provide drivers with greater flexibility while maintaining safety on roads. Participants will be provided information to understand the changes including how the rules allow drivers to split their off-duty time. The seminar will also cover the federal Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse, and what motor carriers are required to do to comply. The clearinghouse is an online database that contains real-time access to information on drug and alcohol program violations committed by drivers required to comply with the federal regulations. Participants will learn about querying the clearinghouse and reporting violations.

Registrants who provide their WSI Policy number at registration will receive up to two free registrations.

The webinar is scheduled October 20 from 8:30 a.m. to 12 noon (CDT). Click here to register.

Source: What's Wrong with Wind and Solar -- PragerU