Burgum: Office working to sell plant
From N.D. Governor Doug Burgum “While this news is disappointing, Lt. Gov. Sanford and I are more determined than ever to find a path forward for Coal Creek Station that preserves high-paying jobs and keeps North Dakota’s most efficient and updated coalfired plant on the grid to ensure baseload power capacity for our state and the region,” Burgum said. “We remain committed to bringing stakeholders to the table to evaluate all options and find opportunity in this uncertainty. We appreciate GRE’s 40-year history of positive economic impact on the energy and agriculture industries in North Dakota and look forward to collaborative opportunities in the future.” Coal Creek Station has been in operation
since 1979 and has 260 employees. GRE announced that the reduced power generation will be replaced with 1,100 MW of wind energy purchases by the end of 2023, 600 MW of
which have been approved for wind projects, mostly located in Minnesota. The Governor’s Office has been actively engaged in conversations with GRE to transfer or sell Coal Creek
Station to third party operators. In a press release today, GRE expressed its willingness to consider opportunities to sell the plant prior to the planned retirement in the second half of 2022. J.C. Butler, CEO of North American Coal, the operator of the Falkirk Mine near Underwood, ND, which is the lignite supplier.
