For more information:
Kay LaCoe – Vice President of Marketing & Communications
O: 701.355.2194 | C: 701.400.6757
kay.lacoe@lignite.com
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – June 4, 2024
In 2023, North Dakota’s five lignite mines extracted 24 million tons of lignite coal, continuing their streak of providing more than 25 million tons each year since 1985. Lignite coal is a low-cost fuel source for in-state electricity generation stations which produce some of the lowest-cost electricity in the nation.
“North Dakota’s coal fleet is unique in that our power plants are located near the mines,” said Lignite Energy Council president and CEO Jason Bohrer. “Having the fuel source and its generating station so close, it all but eliminates transportation costs associated with fuel source and keeps North Dakota’s electricity prices low and stable.”
Rates were indeed so minimal that North Dakota boasted the country’s lowest residential and commercial electricity rates in March 2023. According to data released by the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), North Dakota has the lowest residential and commercial electricity rates in the country and is also among the lowest industrial electricity rates in the U.S. each month. The average residential electricity rate for North Dakotans in March 2023 was 9.72 cents per kilowatt-hour, a mind-blowing number when compared to California’s whopping 28.12 cents per kilowatt-hour in that same month.
Power plants in North Dakota sell electricity into energy marketplaces managed by multi-state independent system operators. Basin Electric is a member of the Southwest Power Pool (SPP), and the other utilities are members of the Midwest Independent System Operator (MISO).
The state’s highest coal production came from The Freedom Mine north of Beulah, N.D. The mine is the largest lignite producer in the United States and sold 11.3 million tons to the Dakota Gasification Company’s Great Plains Synfuels Plant, Basin Electric’s Antelope Valley Station, and the Leland Olds Station.
North Dakota’s second-largest lignite mine is the Falkirk Mine near Underwood, N.D., and sold 6.6 million tons to serve the Coal Creek Station owned by Rainbow Energy, and the Spiritwood Station owned by Great River Energy. BNI Coal Ltd.’s Center Mine near Center, N.D. sold 3.9 million tons to Minnkota Power Cooperative’s Milton R. Young Station. Finally, the Coyote Creek Mine produced 2.1 million tons for the adjacent Coyote Station south of Beulah, N.D – up 300,000 tons from the previous year.
The Lignite Energy Council is a regional trade association representing North Dakota lignite producers, electric utilities, and more than 200 businesses providing goods and services to the mines and plants. The lignite industry generates approximately $5.75 billion in gross business volume and facilitates 12,000 direct and indirect jobs within the state.
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