Minnkota Power Cooperative said it is seeking permits for its proposed carbon capture and storage (CCS) project at the Milton R. Young Power Station in Center, North Dakota.Project Tundra is designed to capture up to four million metric tons of CO2 annually from the coal-fired plant. Minnkota said it plans to retrofit the 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.
Minnkota said the CO2 will be stored more than a mile underground in geologic formations. Minnkota said it currently has the largest fully permitted CO2 storage facility in the U.S. and is pursuing additional CO2 storage opportunities near the Milton R. Young plant.
In late July, Minnkota lined up a tentative $150 million loan to advance the project. The loan was authorized by the state’s Clean Sustainable Energy Authority (CSEA) and is in addition to an earlier $100 million CSEA loan approved in 2022. Project Tundra partners also applied for a $350 million grant through the Department of Energy’s Carbon Capture Demonstration Projects Program.
Closing on financing and the notice to move forward with construction of Project Tundra are expected in early 2024. The project remains subject to closing on financing and a final investment decision by each of the project entities
