Overview

Resources and Consumption

North Dakota has considerable fossil fuel reserves. Coal is extracted from large surface mines in central North Dakota. Substantial crude oil and natural gas reserves are located in the Williston Basin, in the western part of the State. Although a low population largely accounts for the State’s low total energy consumption, North Dakota’s per capita energy consumption ranks among the highest in the Nation, in large part due to high demand for heating during the cold winters and an energy-intensive economy. Industry accounts for nearly one-half of the State’s total energy consumption.

Petroleum

North Dakota is a substantial crude oil-producing State with an output typically equal to over 2 percent of total U.S. production. The State is also an entrance point for Canadian crude oil transported via pipeline to U.S. Midwest refining markets. An additional 2,148-mile pipeline is currently under construction and once completed in 2010, will transport crude oil from Alberta, Canada through eastern North Dakota to markets in the Midwest. A small petroleum refinery near Bismarck refines crude oil extracted from the Williston Basin, which covers eastern Montana and the western Dakotas, as well as a small amount of Canadian crude. The refinery produces transportation fuels primarily for the northern Great Plains States and the Twin Cities area. A small new refinery has been proposed on the Fort Berthold Indian reservation in western North Dakota. If constructed, it would be the first new crude oil refinery in the United States in decades.

North Dakota has six ethanol plants, four of which are currently producing ethanol, giving the State substantial ethanol production capacity. North Dakota is a moderate consumer of ethanol in blended motor gasoline, although it is one of the few States in the Nation that allow the statewide use of conventional motor gasoline. (Most States require the use of specific gasoline blends in non-attainment areas due to air-quality considerations.)

Natural Gas

North Dakota typically accounts for roughly 1 percent of the Nation’s natural gas production. The majority of the State’s supply is transported via major pipelines originating in Montana and western Canada on their way to U.S. Midwest consumption markets via South Dakota and Minnesota. North Dakota has the distinction of being one of only three States that produce synthetic natural gas . The largest source of synthetic gas in the United States is the Great Plains Synfuels Plant in Beulah, North Dakota, which annually produces more than 54 billion cubic feet of gas from coal. Overall State use of natural gas is low, with the industrial sector leading State consumption. Over two-fifths of the households in North Dakota use natural gas as their primary source of energy for home heating.

Coal, Electricity, and Renewables

Electricity generation and demand are both low in North Dakota, commensurate with the State’s population. Coal-fired plants provide nearly all of North Dakota’s electricity generation. Most of the coal used for power generation is supplied by several large surface mines in the central part of the State. State coal production is substantial, and North Dakota brings in only small amounts of coal from other States. Hydroelectric dams account for most of the State’s non-coal electricity. The Garrison Dam, located about 75 miles northwest of Bismarck, is North Dakota’s fifth largest plant in electricity generation capability. North Dakota is a substantial producer of wind energy, with over 20 operational wind power projects, and leads the Nation in potential for wind power. Nearly three-tenths of North Dakota households use electricity as their primary energy source for home heating.

In March 2007, North Dakota adopted a voluntary renewable portfolio objective that aims to have one-tenth of electricity generated from renewable sources by 2015.