By Dav
Bismarck, ND – Great River Energy will be issuing so-called "Clean Energy Bonds" for a project that affects both its Coal Creek station near Underwood -- and the new Spiritwood Energy Park near Jamestown.
Great River will issue $14.5 million in bonds to create a coal-drying facility at Coal Creek. It will remove about 25 percent of the water from lignite. That dried coal will be shipped by rail to Spiritwood, where it will be used to generate power to run a new 100-million gallon ethanol facility...and the Cargill malting facility.
Congressman Earl Pomeroy says this bonding program is similar to renewable energy tax credits given to investor-owned utilities.
"The net effect of it is -- the co-op gets interest free money, similar to what investor-owned utilities get when they get a tradable tax credit," said Pomeroy.
Great River has been testing coal drying technology at the Coal Creek plant -- and plant manager John Weeda says it works well.