News Releases for May 2004
May 14, 2004
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Hoeven Announces Air Quality Permit Filing For Proposed Power Plant In North Dakota
BISMARCK, N.D. - Gov. John Hoeven today announced that Montana-Dakota Utilities Co. and Westmoreland Power, Inc. are moving forward in the process to permit a coal-fired electrical generating facility in southwestern North Dakota.
Montana-Dakota and Westmoreland Power today will file for an air quality permit with the North Dakota Department of Health. The permit is for a 175-megawatt state-of-the-art lignite-fired power plant to be developed near Gascoyne, N.D.
“I am pleased that Montana-Dakota and Westmoreland are applying for the necessary air permit for a power plant and mine in western North Dakota near Gascoyne,” Hoeven said. “This is positive news, representing a $300 million investment in our state. Today’s power plants are clean, efficient and have a life span of 75 years, which means long-term, well-paying jobs and stable energy prices. We are capitalizing on our abundant natural resources and maintaining the clean air and way of life that we all enjoy.”
In early 2001, Montana-Dakota, headquartered in Bismarck, N.D., and Westmoreland Power, headquartered in Colorado Springs, Colo., began studying the feasibility of constructing the new plant in connection with North Dakota’s Lignite Vision 21 Project. Filing for an air quality permit is the next step in the evolution of the project.
“Air quality permits can take up to a year to process,” said Martin A. White, chairman of the board, president and chief executive officer of MDU Resources Group, Inc., the parent company of Montana-Dakota. “We want to ensure that we have all the necessary approvals in place to bring this project to commercial operation.”
White also is chairman of the North Dakota Economic Development Foundation.
The plant and adjacent lignite mine would create 100 full-time jobs as well as numerous ancillary jobs, because of the services needed for a facility of its size.
“The plant has benefits for all parties involved,” said Doug Kathol, president of Westmoreland Power. “The Gascoyne site offers an abundant low-cost fuel supply, favorable environmental characteristics and provides an opportunity for another area of North Dakota to experience the benefits of the energy industry.”
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