Megan Wittman, megan.wittman@sierraclub.org
Montevideo, MN – Yesterday, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) approved funding for “Project Tundra,” a proposed large-scale carbon capture and storage project in North Dakota. DOE will spend $350 million of federal tax dollars on the project.
Project Tundra is a proposal from Minnkota Power Cooperative, a rural electric cooperative that provides power to communities in Minnesota and North Dakota. Minnkota will retrofit its aging Milton R. Young coal power plant with equipment to capture some portion of its excessive carbon emissions. Minnkota estimates the project will cost a total of $1.9 billion.
Earlier this year, Sierra Club and CURE submitted comments to DOE challenging the agency’s environmental analysis that expressed approval of the project. The comments to the DOE state that Project Tundra is so poorly designed that it likely would not qualify for the lucrative federal tax credits needed to pay back the astronomical project costs. They note that without this tax credit, Minnkota’s customers would be exposed to tremendous risk of rate hikes. They also noted that Project Tundra relies on withdrawing nearly 5 billion gallons of water from the Missouri River, which would likely worsen drought conditions for North Dakota while the state is experiencing abnormally dry conditions. Already this year, the U.S. has spent $57.6 billion in climate disaster relief.
“This decision is devastating for North Dakotans, and especially Minnkota customers like me. Minnkota isn’t subject to rate regulation by the Public Service Commission or the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, and rates can be increased at the whim of the Minnkota Board of Directors. Even with DOE’s partial funding, what’s the plan for keeping Minnkota customers from being stuck with the bill for the other $1.4 billion? All to prop up an old coal plant. The math isn’t adding up– this expensive project will leave North Dakota customers on the hook to make up for it. Project Tundra is a boondoggle that hardworking North Dakotans can’t afford,” said Todd Leake, Nodak and Minnkota Customer, and Chair of North Dakota Chapter, Sierra Club.
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The Sierra Club is America’s largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization, with millions of members and supporters. In addition to protecting every person's right to get outdoors and access the healing power of nature, the Sierra Club works to promote clean energy, safeguard the health of our communities, protect wildlife, and preserve our remaining wild places through grassroots activism, public education, lobbying, and legal action. For more information, visit www.sierraclub.org.