Kim Petty, kim.petty@sierraclub.org
BISMARCK, N.D. — Today, Sierra Club released its sixth annual Dirty Truth Report, which reveals how North Dakota’s Basin Electric Power Cooperative is failing to phase out expensive fossil fuels and transition to more affordable, reliable renewable energy options. The report grades utilities across the country based on how much renewable energy they are adding, how much coal they are retiring, and how much gas they are planning. Amid an AI data center boom, North Dakota is one of several states where gas projects are increasingly being proposed to meet growing energy demand.
Nationally, the 76 utilities included in the Dirty Truth Report scored 7 out of 100 in aggregate — eight points lower than last year’s report and the lowest score in the report’s history. In North Dakota, Basin Electric scored 0 out of 100, earning the company an F. Basin Electric plans to build 1,437 MW of wind and solar power by 2035, but the majority of new energy will come from fossil fuels. The company plans to build 1,706 MW of gas while continuing to operate two coal-burning power plants in the state.
Renewable energy remains the cheapest way to generate electricity, while coal and fossil fuels remain expensive and extremely harmful to public health and wildlife. Despite this, the Dirty Truth Report shows that utilities like Basin Electric are doubling down on dangerous, expensive fossil fuels. This is leading to higher bills for families, more dangerous pollution, and less reliable energy.
The full report is available on the Dirty Truth website or here.
“AI data centers are driving an alarming amount of new gas projects at a time when the Trump administration has rolled back the environmental and public health regulations that protect us,” said Todd Leake, Chair of the Sierra Club North Dakota Chapter. “By committing to more fossil fuels, Basin Electric is also committing to more polluted groundwater, dirty air, and unreclaimed strip mines. It is time our member-owned utility actually does what’s best for its member-owners and transitions to renewable energy.”
“The Dirty Truth report has once again revealed utilities’ overwhelming failure to plan a phase-out of their expensive and dirty fossil fuel infrastructure, and transition to clean energy,” said Sierra Club Chief Program Officer Holly Bender. “Every year that utilities drag their feet on the clean energy transition is another year where families pay record bills for expensive fossil fuels, another year of extreme weather events, and another year of air and water pollution threatening our health. We cannot afford to wait any longer to bring our grid into the 21st century. As artificial intelligence data centers drive demand for energy, utility companies are rushing to expensive and dangerous fossil fuels, leading to soaring electricity prices and worsening air pollution. The time is now for these companies to transition to affordable, reliable, clean energy to build a healthier and more sustainable energy future. The Sierra Club will continue to push utilities to deploy more renewable energy and work to lower costs and emissions.”
About the Sierra Club
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.