Friday, January 21, 2022 Categories:
Industrial Commission
Lignite Research Program
Press Release

World’s largest carbon capture facility – Project Tundra – receives North Dakota Industrial Commission approvals

Bismarck – The Industrial Commission today approved the Class VI storage facility applications for North Dakota-based Minnkota Power Cooperative’s Project Tundra. The project is a $1 billion investment in carbon capture from the Milton R. Young Station in Oliver County, North Dakota.

Minnkota’s Milton R. Young Station is a lignite coal-fired power plant which has been in operation since 1970. The lignite used as fuel for electrical generation is the source of a carbon dioxide (CO2) stream which is expected to be captured, dehydrated, compressed, and then injected by Project Tundra. The Milton R. Young Station will capture up to 90% of its CO2 emissions, amounting to an annual average of 4 million metric tons.

“Project Tundra has stated the facility will capture CO2 emissions that are equal to removing 800,000 gasoline-fueled vehicles off the road each year,” the three-member Commission stated in a joint statement. “This project and the many other exciting carbon capture storage projects being talked about in North Dakota set us on the right path toward carbon neutrality.” The Industrial Commission consists of Governor Doug Burgum as chairman, Attorney General Wayne Stenehjem and Agriculture Commissioner Doug Goehring.

This is the second Class VI storage facility approved in North Dakota. The proposed site is approximately

4.3 miles southwest of Center, North Dakota, and will include up to two injection wells in the Broom Creek Formation, up to one injection well in the Deadwood Formation, one dedicated monitoring well for the lowest underground source of drinking water, one deep subsurface monitoring well, and associated surface facility infrastructure.

“The Broom Creek and Deadwood Formations are located approximately 1 mile and 2 miles underground and have the capacity to hold more than 50 billion tons of CO2,” said Lynn Helms, Department of Mineral Resources Director. “Extensive work was done by Minnkota and the UND Energy & Environmental Research Center to develop a proposal that meets all of the regulatory and financial assurance requirements the State has established for these storage facilities. Project Tundra ranks in the top 10 of the Global CCS Institute report of 135 commercial capture and storage projects worldwide.”

For more information on North Dakota’s Class VI program visit: https://www.dmr.nd.gov/oilgas/GeoStorageofCO2.asp

For further information Contact Katie Haarsager at 328-8020

Attachment: World's-Largest-Carbon-Capture-Facility-Project-Tundra-Receives-NDIC-Approvals