Trouble Ahead– Plans are in Place to Phase Coal Out of ND

February 15, 2021 T. Arthur Mason North Dakota

The temps here on the Northern Plains are a bit chilly lately— to put it mildly. There’s no question that North Dakota winters aren’t for the faint of heart. I thank God for our coal industry. Especially in the midst of a deep freeze. They provide a reliable source of energy for our state.

According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, “Coal-fired power plants accounted for 63% of North Dakota’s electricity generation in 2019, and 5 of the state’s 10 largest power plants are coal-fired.” The largest portion of the state’s remaining electric grid comes from wind power, which accounts for 27%. Wind power “has more than tripled since 2009.”

All we must do to see potential problems with too much dependency on wind is to look to Texas. As you can see here, millions of Texans are currently without power “due to lower power supply and high demand due to extremely low temperatures during the winter storm sweeping the state.” In other words, rotating power outages have been implemented.

As mentioned in the article, high demand is unquestionably an aspect of their problems in Texas. But when “half of the state’s wind turbine capacity (25,000-megawatts) is not currently generating power because many turbines have become frozen“, I’d say that’s a major problem too.

Could such problems be in North Dakota’s future? It seems so. Perhaps sooner than we’d like. Not only to the degree that wind energy has grown in the state, but because it appears plans are in place to phase coal out altogether— in the not too distant future.

The Watchdog Network’s Dustin Gawrylow noted as much earlier today in the following Facebook post:

If you’re interested in perusing the document Gawrylow is referring to, you can do so by clicking here.

The people of North Dakota deserve a more open and honest conversation on this issue. Because I don’t know about you, but I’m not satisfied with an unreliable and subsidized source of energy like wind power putting the grid at risk in our state. As consumers, we can — and should — expect better than that.

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Sources:

  1. North Dakota – State Energy Profile Analysis – U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA)
  2. Rotating power outages underway in Texas due to energy emergency | kvue.com
  3. The-Resource-Plan-No-Appendices.pdf (xcelenergy.com)
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About T. Arthur Mason 883 Articles
T. Arthur Mason is a native North Dakotan who has spent nearly all of his life in the Peace Garden State. As the third of four children in Western North Dakota, Mason grew to appreciate family and the outdoors. Some of his fondest memories are annual deer hunts with family and friends. In his early teenage years, faith became a central part of T. Arthur Mason's life. He and the majority of his family attend church together on a weekly basis and find this a fulfilling aspect of their lives. Through the influence of his father, T. Arthur Mason became intrigued with politics. As a boy, he attended political events with his father and enjoyed the friendships that resulted as a byproduct of those political associations. As Mason grew older, he became convinced that the quote often attributed to Thomas Jefferson was true, "That government is best which governs least." Today, T. Arthur Mason enjoys time with his wife and children, an occasional hunt, and an increasingly active life on the political scene. This blog is the fulfillment of a dream to design a web site in the realm of politics and to advocate for the principles of Liberty and constitutionally limited government. On behalf of all those that contribute to The Minuteman, we hope you enjoy your time on the site and will share the message with others.

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