The 12th annual Great Plains and Empower ND Energy Conference was held on Monday, October 8 at Bismarck State College. The conference included a variety of speakers who discussed diverse energy topics on the state, regional and national level.
LEC’s Jason Bohrer moderated a panel recently regarding energy policy. Participating were North Dakota Lieutenant Gov. Brent Sanford, Congressman Kevin Cramer, along with North Dakota’s two U.S. Senators John Hoeven and Heidi Heitkamp.Jason Bohrer, president and CEO of the Lignite Energy Council, served as the moderator for a panel which included U.S. Senator John Hoeven, U.S. Senator Heidi Heitkamp, U.S. Congressman Kevin Cramer and North Dakota Lieutenant Governor Brent Sanford. They discussed “All of the Above: The Big Picture in State and National Energy Policy.”
Bohrer, asked a wide variety of questions on current energy topics including 45Q tax credit that aims to advance clean coal technology, the Affordable Clean Energy rule and many other ideas and policy proposals to help shape and strengthen the state’s energy future.
“We are very fortunate to live in North Dakota where we have a bipartisan federal delegation who each have consistent records of accomplishment working to preserve and protect the lignite industry in Washington D.C.,” Bohrer said.
The keynote speaker, Dan Brouillette, who is the deputy secretary of the U.S. Department of Energy, highlighted some key issues such as the Affordable Clean Energy Rule. He said the rule will be shaping national energy policy over the next few years. He mentioned that North Dakota is an all-of-the-above energy success story and that the state is playing a larger role in foreign policy than it ever has largely due to record production of oil and natural gas.
He also praised the lignite industry for being at the forefront of carbon capture utilization and storage technology efforts made possible through partnerships between the Lignite Energy Council members, the U.S. Department of Energy and the Energy and Environmental Research Center at the University of North Dakota.
Conference participants also heard from a panel focused on “All of the Above Generation Infrastructure” which was moderated by Public Service Commissioner Julie Fedorchek. The panel included regional energy experts. Stacey Dahl, senior manager of external affairs and communications at Minnkota Power Cooperative spoke on behalf of the lignite industry and Jean Schafer, senior legislative representative at Basin Electric Power Cooperative, spoke on behalf of the natural gas industry. Betsy Engelking, vice president of strategy for Geronimo Energy, represented the wind industry. They each gave presentations on what they believe are the biggest impacts to their industry now and potentially in the future.
The last speech of the day was delivered by North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, who highlighted the status of the overall economy and the great achievements reached by the energy industry in North Dakota