One-Of-A-Kind North Dakota Gasification Plant Makes Milestone CO - KXNet - Bismarck/Minot/Williston/Dickinson

  A one-of-a-kind milestone has been reached by a one-of-a-kind energy plant -- right here in North Dakota.  

The 25th millionth metric ton of carbon dioxide from the Great Plains Synfuels Plant near Beulah arrived in Canada this week.  Why is that important?  It's because the Beulah Plant -- and what it does -- is unique in the United States.  It converts coal into natural gas, and also sends the CO2 by-product to Canada where it is used to boost oil production.

"Our pipeline that runs from the plant up into Canada has taps all the way along, so if there is ever a need or a market develops to use CO2 in the now-expanding oil fields in Northwest North Dakota, in the Bakken formation, the taps are already there," says Daryl Hill, Manager of Media & Communications Relations for Basin Electric Power Cooperative.

The unique aspects of Basin Electric's gasification plant and its CO2 capture efforts have garnered worldwide attention on Modern Marvels, the History Channel, CNN and BBC.