NPPD says, "Projects selected are expected to advance competitive operation of the country’s fossil-based power generation infrastructure by reducing energy consumption and capital costs associated with next-generation carbon capture systems."
NPPD says in the release that they will be contributing $250,000 through internal labor and expenses, in addition to $50,000 in cash from the District's Domestic Energy Initiative Fund. “We continue to be interested in this project and support it because our coal-fired generating resources bring significant value to our customers,” said NPPD Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Tom Kent. “It is important that we find technologies that can reduce CO2 emissions in a cost-effective manner.”The project is expected to last 18 months, once it begins in April, and will work towards developing a budgetary estimate for the cost of capturing CO2 emissions from the Gentleman Unit 2 near Sutherland.
NPPD previously worked with ION in 2013, when they were able to develop a solvent that provided a potential low-cost solution for carbon capture, says the release. Contributing partners on that project also included the University of North Dakota Energy and Environmental Research Center and the University of Alabama Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering.