Energy Grant Comes to North Dakota

Energy Grant Comes to North Dakota

Sep 16 - Bismarck Tribune

WASHINGTON -- Sen. Byron Dorgan, D-N.D., announced Monday that a consortium of energy companies and research institutions in North Dakota has been awarded a federal grant of $497,050 to undertake a pilot program to produce, store and distribute hydrogen fuel. The project could be a major step toward producing hydrogen fuel efficiently using wind energy in North Dakota.

Dorgan, a member of the Senate Energy and Water Appropriations Subcommittee, secured the funding for the project during last year's appropriations' process.

The consortium consists of Basin Electric Power Cooperative, the University of North Dakota Energy and Environmental Research Center, Stuart Energy Systems Corp., the North Dakota State University North Central Research Extension Center, Verendrye Electric Power Cooperative and the city of Minot. These partners will contribute $124,262 to the project.

The project plan consists of two parts. The initial phase will analyze the economics and environmental impacts associated with the production of hydrogen fuel using wind turbines. The second phase, scheduled to begin in the spring of 2005, will include the placement of a hydrogen electrolyzer using "dynamic scheduling" with Basin Electric's wind energy farms to produce hydrogen for use as a vehicle fuel both on and off site.

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