The state’s Industrial Commission has approved permits for a large carbon capture project in Oliver County.
Minnkota Power Cooperative plans to take CO2 from the Milton R. Young power plant near Center and store it underground.
It's part of "Project Tundra," billed as the world's largest carbon capture project.
"They're projecting that starting in 2025, injecting 4 million tons (of CO2) per year," state Mineral Resources Director Lynn Helms told the Commission. "This is hugely important for our lignite industry, and also for this new industry, going forward in the state of North Dakota, to be the hub for carbon storage in the Midwest."
Minnkota Power Cooperative — the owner of the Young plant — and UND's Energy and Environmental Research Center continue to develop the actual technology to capture the carbon.
"That's what's going to take all the time," Helms said. "The storage facility is ready to go. It'll be the construction of the capture facility that's going to take the time."