The North Dakota Industrial Commission, consisting of Gov. Doug Burgum, Attorney General Drew Wrigley and Agriculture Commissioner Doug Goehring, approved $21.8 million in matching grants and $153 million in loans during the latest grant round for the Clean Sustainable Energy program. The Clean Sustainable Energy Program was established in 2021 to advance the commercialization of low-emissions technologies for North Dakota’s energy industry and is funded by a combination of oil tax revenue and state-owned mineral royalties.
The eight approved Clean Sustainable Energy Program projects included:
• A $7 million grant to Scranton Holding Company to support a low-carbon pig iron production facility in McLean County.
• A $2.5 million loan to Wellspring Hydro to support an oilfield produced water recycling facility in Williams County.
• A $3.3 million grant to the Energy and Environmental Research Center and Marathon Petroleum to support the expansion and production of sustainable aviation fuels at its Dickinson refinery.
• A $2 million grant to Dakota Lithium for a demonstration facility producing low-carbon, long-duration lithium-ion batteries in Grand Forks.
• A $17 million loan to Packet Digital to support its battery manufacturing facility in Fargo.
• A $9.5 million grant and a $8.5 million loan to Cerilon to further support construction of a natural gas-to-liquids production facility in Williams County.
Additionally, the Commission accepted the recommendation of the Clean Sustainable Energy Authority (CSEA) and approved the following fertilizer projects for forgivable loans:
• A $75 million loan to Prairie Horizon for a fertilizer production facility in Stark County
• A $50 million loan to NextEra Energy Resources for a fertilizer production facility in Stutsman County.
The fertilizer loan was authorized by House Bill 1546 during the November 2023 special session, which also directed the CSEA to forgive the loan “upon completion of construction of the fertilizer production facility.” The forgiven loan will be paid from the Strategic Investments and Improvement Fund, which receives its funding from oil tax revenue and royalties from state-owned minerals.
“The projects approved represent an exciting new chapter for our state,” the Commission said in a joint statement. “By leveraging state energy tax dollars and private sector investments, we can address the rising regulatory burden that our industries face while ensuring that our energy portfolio remains resilient and reliable. We commend the Clean Sustainable Energy Authority for thoroughly vetting the many great applications we received, and we thank the applicants for their investments in North Dakota.”
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