The future of a large-scale carbon capture demonstration project in North Dakota is now unclear after multiple media outlets reported a key partner’s exit from the venture.
Canada-based TC Energy has withdrawn from Project Tundra, according to Politico’s E&E News. TC Energy was a primary sponsor, along with Minnkota Power Cooperative.
TC Energy played a pivotal role as a partner in the development of Project Tundra, and their contributions provided tremendous value,” a Minnkota Power Cooperative spokesperson said in a statement provided to Power Engineering. “While we remain optimistic about advancing the project, securing capital resources will be essential to reaching a final investment decision.”
Project Tundra aims to capture carbon from the Milton R. Young Station, a coal-fired plant near Center, North Dakota. The project would use Mitsubishi Heavy Industries’ KS-21 solvent to capture CO2, which would be permanently stored in saline geologic formations beneath and surrounding the power plant. The storage site is approved for a Class VI well permit.
Minnkota had said it plans to retrofit the coal-fired plant’s 430 MW Unit 2 to capture up to 90% of its CO2 emissions. Unit 2 is a cyclone-fired wet bottom boiler from Babcock & Wilcox. The project could capture an annual average of 4 million metric tons of CO2, according to project leaders said.
Project Tundra received federal funding from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) last year through two separate totaling nearly $400 million. This was in addition to another $43 million received from the federal government in 2020.
Carbon capture is seen by proponents as an emerging technology that could keep fossil-fired plants viable while reducing emissions. Under the Biden Administration’s EPA Power Plant Rule, coal- and new natural gas-fired plants would have to capture their carbon or close by various compliance dates in the 2030s.
Opponents of the rule, which may not survive the first few weeks of the new Trump Administration, have expressed that CO2 capture systems are costly and energy-intensive.
Officials with the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA) noted in court filings earlier this year that Project Tundra sits atop ideal geology for storage, has been in planning for nearly a decade, and has used government funding for two-thirds of the costs so far, yet still would not meet the 90% capture rate.
They also said other variable factors that could further delay the project include labor and supply chain constraints.
The Minnkota Power spokesperson said the co-op continues to assess federal funding opportunities, potential EPA compliance obligations and ongoing supply chain and inflationary pressures. The spokesperson said the co-op looks forward to a final investment decision “when the necessary conditions align.”
We have reached out to TC Energy for comment and will continue providing updates to this story.
