November 6, 2020 -- Friendly Faces

The advent of hydraulic fracturing has been a boon to the energy industry, producing an abundance of cheap natural gas. But the low prices have created financial difficulties for the Great Plains Synfuels Plant, causing its owner Basin Electric Power Cooperative to consider ways to improve the plant's profitability.

During a members-only information meeting that was part of the co-op's annual meeting this week, Basin management reported that a recently-completed front-end engineering and design (FEED) study to add a primary reformer to the synfuels plant looks promising. Employees at the plant, which is part of Dakota Gasification Company, were also briefed on the proposal this week. Adding a primary reformer would allow the facility to continue fertilizer production at its urea facility with or without the continuation of the coal gasification process. Certain products at the facility could also continue to be produced such as liquid nitrogen, krypton/xenon, and potentially argon from the air separation unit.

During a financial report delivered by Steve Johnson, Basin's chief financial officer, members learned that Dakota Gasification incurred a net loss of $70.5 million in 2019, and has recorded a loss of $89.5 million in the first nine months of 2020.

"We ran multiple scenarios on Dakota Gas to see what would be the best economic way to help this subsidiary get it over the hump" said Basin CEO Paul Sukut. "I think the biggest thing we did in doing that is we said we are not going to harm rates or reliability for the cost of trying to do that and I think we have found a way."

Basin officials said adding the primary reformer would be a significant change in operation of the Synfuels Plant, but a necessary step in the right direction if coal-based products continue to suffer from low commodity pricing. Basin plans to continue reviewing the FEED study, which calls for construction beginning in 2023 and the primary reformer going online in 2026. The plan allows five years to explore other opportunities at the facility including the possibility of a Section 45Q CO2 sequestration project, argon production, ethane to plastics, and adding gas turbines for electric generation.

Members of Basin Electric Power Cooperative were told this week that coal-fired generation will continue to be a part of the wholesale power supplier's energy mix for decades to come, but the company is seeking ways to reduce carbon dioxide emissions from its fleet.

Speaking to a virtual audience at Basin's annual meeting, CEO Paul Sukut said, like others companies, Basin has struggled in 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic. Sukut said the drop in electric demand was especially noticeable in the oil fields of western North Dakota.

Click here to listen to Sukut's comments.

Sukut described the cooperative's effort to add "low carbon or no carbon" sources to its generation fleet. In addition to adding wind and solar generation, he said Basin is working with producers in the Bakken to explore the possibility of using natural gas that is now being flared, and instead burning it in a natural gas turbine to generate electricity. Sukut said progress is also being made on CO2 capture at Dry Fork Station, one of the company's coal plants near Gillette, Wyoming.

Click here to listen to Sukut's comments.

Basin's recent decisions have reduced the amount of electricity produced at Antelope Valley Station, Leland Olds Station and other Basin-owned coal plants. Sukut said the co-op's reliance on the facilities has decreased, but he expects coal to remain a part of the energy mix for many years to come.

Click here to listen to Sukut's comments.

Sukut also made a point during his remarks to thank the company's workforce for its dedication during the pandemic, noting that essential employees at some plants worked 44 days in a row. He said others put in 24-hour shifts to keep plants running.

Click here to see a video of Sukut's presentation and a transcript of his remarks.

It's never happened before in North Dakota's history - a deceased candidate was elected to a legislative seat on Tuesday - and the unprecedented event has produced a brewing conflict between Governor Doug Burgum and legislative leadership from both political parties.

David Andahl, a 55-year-old rancher from Baldwin, the Republican nominee for the House of Representatives in District 8, died of COVID-19 on October 5. Because his death occurred so close to the election, state election officials were not able to remove his name from the ballot. But Andahl and fellow candidate David Nehring received a huge majority in the election, defeating the two Democrat candidates by more than a three-to-one margin. Andahl and Nehring had the endorsement of District 8 Republicans, and in the June primary defeated longtime Rep. Jeff Delzer, who chairs the House Appropriations Committee.

On Wednesday, Gov. Burgum took the unusual step of appointing a replacement for Andahl, maintaining that the state constitution (Article V, Section 8) provided the authority for the governor to fill the vacancy "if no other method is provided by this constitution or by law.” Burgum appointed Wade Boeshans, the president and general manager of BNI Energy to the vacant seat. Boeshans, who lives in Washburn, is the current chairman of the Lignite Energy Council and has been actively engaged in promoting technology to capture carbon dioxide emissions from coal-fired generating plants.

Burgum's action runs contrary to an opinion previously issued by Attorney General Wayne Stenehjem that said if Andahl was elected, it would create a vacancy and state law (Section 16.1-13-10) provides that it be filled by the Republican committee in District 8. Legislative leaders and Democrat Party officials have also taken issue with the appointment. House Majority Leader Chet Pollert, R-Carrington, said Gov. Burgum overstepped his authority.

"I told (Burgum) he had overstepped his powers and that he is stepping on the Legislature's authority of what needs to be done," Pollert told the Bismarck Tribune.

The North Dakota Democrat-NPL Party issued a statement after learning of the governor's appointment, arguing that third-place finisher Kathrin Volochenko, one of the Dem-NPL nominees for the district, was actually the second top vote getter among qualified candidates, and should win the House seat.

“The election is not yet official, but the governor already made a macabre power grab in an attempt to keep the seat he thought he had already bought by meddling in his party’s primary," Dem-NPL Chairwoman Kylie Oversen said.

The DEM-NPL statement went on to allege that the appointment was an attempt by Gov. Burgum to prevent District 8 from appointing Rep. Delzer, who has been rumored to be a front-runner among members of the district committee to replace Andahl.

Coincidentally, a similar circumstance occurred in Wyoming this year. Wyoming House candidate Roy Edwards passed away Monday, but was running unopposed for re-election. Unlike North Dakota, the state of Wyoming has a law that provides a procedure to address the situation. Section 22-18-101(d) directs that "If a person who has died is elected, a vacancy in office shall occur and the office shall be filled in the same manner as it is filled when a vacancy occurs after the term of office has begun."

Click here to read a Bismarck Tribune article about the brewing dispute. Click here to read excellent analysis of the political and legal issues from Rob Port in the Fargo Forum.

North Dakota Republicans expanded their already sizable majorities in the legislature in Tuesday's election, knocking off three Democrat incumbents in the Senate, and capturing a open seat previously held by a Democrat.

The 2021 Legislature will convene in January with Republicans holding a 40-7 advantage over Democrats in the Senate, while the GOP will have an 80-14 majority in the House.

Republican newcomers defeated Dem-NPL Senate incumbents Jim Dotzenrod from Wyndmere, John Grabinger from Jamestown, and Larry Robinson from Valley City. Winning Republicans in the three districts are, respectively, Jason Heitkamp, Cole Conley and Mike Wobbema. On the House side, Republicans picked up the seat left open by Democrat Rick Holman, who chose not to seek re-election. New representatives are Mike Beltz and Jared Hagert, who knocked out the other incumbent Aaron McWilliams, R-Hillsboro, in the June primary.

Western North Dakota legislators on the ballot, all of whom are Republican, were easily re-elected. Senator Jordan Kannianen from Stanley captured nearly 68% of the vote in defeating challenger Lisa Finley-DeVille. Likewise, Sen. Shawn Vedaa from Velva defeated Democrat challenger Morris Holen Jr. by more than a 2-to-1 margin. GOP Senators David Rust of Tioga, Jay Elkin of Dickinson, Howard Anderson of Turtle Lake, and Minot Senators David Hogue and Karen Krebsbach were all unopposed.

It was a similar story for House members in the west. Republicans Clayton Fegley from Berthold, Terry Jones from New Town, Dick Anderson from Willow City, newcomer Paul Thomas from Velva, Luke Simons from Dickinson, Mike Schatz from New England and Minot representatives Randy Schobinger and Matt Ruby were elected by wide margins. Other Republican representatives serving western North Dakota legislative districts were all unopposed in their re-election bids.

Click here to see results of all legislative races.

The chairmen of the Billings and Stark County Commissions lost their bids for re-election this week, and pending the results of the official canvass and an automatic recount, the chairman of the McKenzie County Commission may been defeated as well. 

Billings County Commissioner Jim Arthaud lost his bid for re-election to challenger Dean Rodne, who outdistanced the incumbent by a margin of 349-275. Rodne's name did not appear on the June primary ballot, but he received sufficient write-in votes to qualify for the general election. Lester Iverson also won a seat on the Billings County Commission with a narrow 306-301 victory over James Haag. Incumbent Joseph Kessel did not seek re-election.

Stark County Commission Chairman Pete Kuntz was defeated by nearly 3,000 votes in his bid for re-election to another term. Unofficial totals show challenger Bernie Marsh with 8,356 votes, to 5,571 for Kuntz. Neal Messer was also elected to the Stark County Commission, defeating Leslie Ross in a seat previously held by Jay Elkin, who did not seek re-election. Incumbent Commissioner Dean Franchuk ran unopposed for another term. 

There will be an automatic recount following next week's canvass of results in McKenzie County, where incumbent Tom McCabe finished fourth in the race, just four votes behind third-place finisher Craig Hystad. Three seats were up for grabs, two of which were captured by newcomers Clint Wold and Joel Brown. Incumbents Doug Nordby and Gene Veeder did not seek re-election. Hystad received 1,936 votes to McCabe's 1,932. Several outstanding mail-in ballots received this week will be opened and counted during the canvass next week, potentially influencing the outcome of the election.

Two WDEA board members won county commission elections Tuesday. Current WDEA President Shannon Holter, who is a member of the Bowbells City Council, will serve an additional role after winning a seat on the Burke County Commission. Holter received 120 votes, or 62% of the vote over two other opponents. WDEA's newest board member David Montgomery was re-elected to another term on the Williams County Commission, defeating challenger Bob Eynon 569-341.

Killdeer School Board President Larry Lundberg will wear another hat after apparently winning a seat on the Dunn County Commission. Lundberg was elected, along with Cody Buehner, although a recount is possible. Lundberg's margin of victory was just 21 votes over incumbent Robert Kleeman, who did not seek re-election but received enough write-in vote in the primary to qualify for the general election ballot.

The mayor of Beulah, Travis Frey, will also serve a dual role in the coming year, after winning a seat on the Mercer County Commission. Also winning seats on the commission were Liza Taylor and Gene Wolf. Incumbent Dwight Berger lost his bid for re-election.

Click here to see all county election results.

Gov. Doug Burgum and Lt. Governor Brent Sanford were re-elected to another four-year term, capturing nearly two-thirds of the vote in Tuesday's election. The pair defeated Dem-NPL candidate Shelly Lenz, who received 25.4% of the vote and Libertarian DuWayne Hendrickson, who received just four percent of the total. 

Dickinson native Kelly Armstrong was easily re-elected to a second term as North Dakota's lone congressman, garnering nearly 69% of the total ballots cast, defeating Democrat Zach Raknerud and Libertarian Steven James Peterson. 

State Superintendent of Public Instruction Kirsten Baesler will serve another term, defeating challenger Brandt Dick from Underwood. Baesler received 59% of the vote to 40% for Dick, with the remainder going to write-in candidates.

Former state representative Thomas Beadle, a Republican from Fargo, was elected state treasurer, defeating Democrat Mark Haugen by nearly a 2-to-1 margin. Incumbent Kelly Schmidt did not seek re-election. 

Republican Brian Kroshus was elected to a six-year term on the Public Service Commission, defeating Democrat challenger Casey Buchmann by a 68-32 margin. State Auditor Josh Gallion was elected to a second four-year term by a similar margin over Democrat Patrick Hart. GOP Insurance Commissioner Jon Godfread was unopposed after his Democrat challenger was disqualified earlier this year. 

Ballot measures to expand the State Board of Higher Education and require legislative review and hearings following the passage of state constitutional amendments were both defeated.

The 31st weather station in the Wise Roads network, this one located just south of Interstate 94 in Billings County, came on line yesterday.

The station, known as Sully Springs, is located about two miles south of the Painted Canyon rest area on I-94. It is a full-service unit that will measure temperature, precipitation and wind speed, as well as soil moisture and temperature. Weather data from the site can be accessed at sullysprings.ndawn.org.

The Wise Roads project (Weather Information System to Effectively Reduce Oilfield Delays and Disruption) was launched by WDEA last summer to minimize the shutdown of oil industry truck traffic following rain events. Providing additional regional weather data allows road managers to restrict traffic only on those roads affected by adverse weather, and keep open those that are not.

The new station is located in the National Grasslands on property managed by the US Forest Service. All Wise Roads stations become part of the ND Agricultural Weather Network (NDAWN). Click here for the NDAWN home page. All of the Wise Roads stations can also be accessed at WiseRoadsND.com. See the October 23 WDEA newsletter for additional details about Wise Roads.

The North Dakota Department of Transportation has been selected as one of eight participants in the Unmanned Aircraft Systems BEYOND Program.

BEYOND is the next phase of the UAS Integration Pilot Program (IPP) which will extend the federal program over the next four years. The pilot program was initially launched in 2017 to shape the future of UAS (drones) in America and enable agencies to work on policy to safely advance UAS operations, including beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) flights over people and night operations.

Selected as lead applicant for the IPP in 2018 and now the BEYOND program, NDDOT will continue to work with Northern Plains UAS Test Site as well as partners and stakeholders across the state to conduct research on how to safely integrate UAS into the National Airspace System.

“Today’s announcement continues to build on North Dakota’s status as the nation’s proving ground for UAS testing, training and commercialization,” Governor Burgum said. “We’re grateful to Secretary Chao for again choosing the North Dakota Department of Transportation to participate in the next phase of this important project to safely incorporate UAS into the national airspace, shaping the future of UAS utilization in America and beyond.”

The BEYOND program will focus on advancing UAS BVLOS operations wtih three mission types:

BEYOND is an opportunity for state, local and tribal governments to partner with private sector entities, such as UAS operators or manufacturers, to accelerate safe UAS integration.

Click here for more information on the program.

This is a reminder that video recordings of speakers who presented at the virtual annual meeting of the Western Dakota Energy Association have been posted on WDEA's YouTube page.

The meeting was conducted on the Zoom platform with a dozen informative presentations spread over two days. Slide presentations from the speakers have also been posted at this link on the WDEA website. Click a link below to view a YouTube video presentation:

Source: ND Secretary of State Office 

January 5