Basin Electric project still seeking customers

BISMARCK (AP) — Basin Electric Power Cooperative is searching for customers to buy the carbon dioxide it plans to retain in an experiment to reduce emissions of the gas from its Antelope Valley power plant, a company official said Wednesday.

Curtis Jabs, a senior lobbyist for the Bismarck-based electric power producer, said engineering work to determine the design and cost of the project should be completed late next month. Basin’s board of directors will probably decide before year’s end whether to go ahead with the project, Jabs told a North Dakota legislative committee that oversees energy development.

One crucial element is whether Basin can find customers for the carbon dioxide that would be captured from one of Antelope Valley’s two 450-megawatt generating units, he said. A potential buyer is the oil industry, which uses carbon dioxide to increase production in some geologic formations.

Tags: north dakota, news, carbon