“It’s about baseload.”
That’s how Sen. John Hoeven kicked off a briefing to discuss how the recently-passed “One Big Beautiful Bill” will stabilize the power grid and secure the future of American energy dominance.
Hoeven, along with Sen. Kevin Cramer and Rep. Julie Fedorchack, discussed how the bill will allow energy industry innovators to produce reliable, baseload power on a level playing field that no longer favors intermittent resources like solar and wind. That’s accomplished partly through permitting reform and rate reform included in the bill, which gives greater regulatory and tax certainty to power producers like Lignite Energy Council member Rainbow Energy Center.
“We’re really excited for the future of the electric grid,” said Jessica Bell, VP of External Affairs at Rainbow. “This bill is a big step forward for baseload power.”
The bill also provides more access to federal coal lands. Until now, it could take more than a decade for coal leases to be approved, leading to costly delays and expensive decisions for mining companies.
“Everybody who wanted to produce more reliable power, the last administration made it harder,” Fedorchak pointed out.
Other member companies were also represented in the briefing, including Basin Electric Power Cooperative’s Chris Baumgartner, Senior VP of Member and External Relations, who pointed out that their members throughout 9 states depend on reliable, dispatchable power generation.
Ron Ness, President of the North Dakota Petroleum Council, added that the bill’s exemption on overtime wages will benefit employees in both the oil and gas and coal industries.
Ness also highlighted the relationship between oil and gas and the coal industries in the area of CO2 capture and use in enhanced oil recovery. The bill removes the incentive for carbon producers to store CO2 in the ground, rather than use it to produce more oil from and add more value to wells that have already been drilled and invested in.
“I believe today there’s a whole new opportunity for us over in the Bakken,” he stated.
“It’s environmentally friendly to be able to utilize enhanced oil recovery with CO2 that’s captured off of a coal facility or an ethanol facility,” Bell added.
Hoeven, Cramer and Fedorchak also discussed how North Dakota can continue to be a leader in energy development and meet the needs of emerging industries like Artificial Intelligence and data centers.