Christianson to be director of Great Plains Energy Corridor

Former state Department of Commerce employee Kim Christianson was named director of the Great Plains Energy Corridor in September. His office is in the new Bismarck State College Center for Energy Excellence building on campus. The idea behind the corridor concept is to centralize information for the energy industry – a North Dakota energy clearing house. Activities related to the new position include the Great Plains Energy Expo and the Renewable Energy Action Summit.

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National Center for Hydrogen Technology dedicated at UND

The new $3.5 million building for the National Center for Hydrogen Technology was dedicated in September on the campus of the University of North Dakota. The facility is designed to significantly enhance the strategic research, development, testing and commercialization of hydrogen and fuel cell technology at the Energy & Environmental Research Center at UND. It was constructed with $2.5 million in funding from the North Dakota Centers of Excellence Commission, $500,000 from the City of Grand Forks and another $500,000 from the EERC.

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Refinery plan focuses on diesel and jet fuel

A preliminary study for a refinery near Williston suggests it should produce mostly diesel and jet fuel, and would require pipelines for fuel to Minot, Belfield and Spearfish, S.D. Mel Falcon, chief executive officer of Northwest Refining Inc. of Williston released the study Oct. 3. There was also the implication that the refinery could process heavy-sulfur North Dakota crude that’s not currently being pumped. The cost of the refinery and pipelines is estimated to be between $1.3 billion and $2.2 billion, and would take five years to complete.

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EERC creates renewable jet fuel

The Energy & Environmental Research Center at the University of North Dakota has created a 100 percent renewable domestic fuel. The fuel was produced from multiple renewable feed stocks. The flexible process can use various crop oils and waste greases, and can be made to produce combinations of propane, gasoline, jet fuel and diesel.

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Company wants South Heart mining permit

Great Northern Power Development has filed a request with the state Public Service Commission for a permit to open a small coal mine two miles southwest of South Heart. The coal would be used for a coal-drying facility. Great North has plans for a large coal gasification plant at that site. The mine and plants have generated opposition, some of it local.

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More wind turbines in the works

Hartland Wind Farm LLC wants to put together a 2,000-megawatt wind farm in Ward, Burke and Montrail counties, with construction to start in 2010. It would take 1,333 wind towers spread over 270 square miles. Earlier a 1,000 megawatt farm was proposed by FPL Energy LLC for Oliver and Morton counties. The announcements put additional pressure on efforts to add to transmission-resources.

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Bakken production improving

The threshold price for oil from the Bakken formation in North Dakota to be cost effective was thought to be $65-70 per barrel. Lynn Helms, director of the state’s Oil and Gas Division of the Industrial Commission, recently said that has breakeven price in some cases it has dropped to as little as $20 per barrel and in others it is up to $40 or $50 per barrel.