The nearby Freedom Mine, owned and operated by The Coteau Properties Company, supplies lignite coal to Dakota Gas' Great Plains Synfuels Plant and other Basin Electric power plants in the area.
America is at a critical crossroads about energy made from fossil fuels. Federal rules mandating carbon dioxide reduction are going to dramatically affect the cost of energy to consumers.
America has more than an 800-year supply of coal that is currently accessible and economically feasible to recover. Use of this abundant domestic resource is being challenged around the globe. The Great Plains Synfuels Plant is a model of how coal can be used to produce energy in an efficient and environmentally responsible manner.
Each day the Synfuels Plant converts about 18,000 tons of lignite coal. The plant has the capacity of 170 million cubic feet of natural gas per day, which is shipped via the Northern Border Pipeline to market for home heating and electricity generation.
Since the inception of the plant, there have been great strides to produce commercial products that displace synthetic natural gas and refine co-products of the gasification process. These products that are marketed throughout the United States and worldwide, include fertilizers and petrochemicals.
Coal-based energy industries also provide a good living for employees and the communities that support gasification and power plant facilities. Find additional information on the coal industry on the Lignite Energy Council's website.
Why lignite coal?
- Lignite is abundant and accessible.
- Lignite-generated electricity is reliable.
- Lignite-generated electricity is environmentally compatible.
- Lignite-generated electricity is low-cost.
- Lignite is used in an environmentally-responsible manner.
- North Dakota lignite mines have averaged about 30 million tons annually since 1988.
