Bismarck, N.D. – According to the officials, the loan program is intended for Project Tundra, the ambitious, billion-dollar venture to capture and store carbon emissions off of a coal plant in central North Dakota.
Project Tundra would be the world’s largest carbon capture facility.
A holy grail of clean energy innovation, the breakthrough would grant a new lease on life to North Dakota’s declining coal industry and provide a blueprint for the decarbonization of coal-fired power plants around the globe.
When lawmakers approached the Bank of North Dakota, bank officials declined, saying they would never approve a loan of its magnitude, subsidized interest rates or risk on their own balance sheet.
That reimbursement would likely be covered with taxpayer dollars.
Lawmakers said that there are numerous state funds the Legislature could pull from. Lawmakers hope federal carbon capture tax credits would cover the costs over a longer period.
