Minnkota and Summit collaborate on carbon storage

Minnkota and Summit have been working independently on the development of their respective carbon capture and storage (CCS) projects – Minnkota with Project Tundra.

Project Tundra aims to install innovative carbon capture technologies at the coal-fired Milton R. Young Station in North Dakota (ND) to capture 90 percent of the CO₂ produced from either generator at the power plant Milton R. Young Station.

This capture rate amounts to about 4 million tonnes per year.

Summit Carbon Solutions with the capture and permanent storage of CO₂ from dozens of ethanol plants across five states in the Upper Midwest.

We are joining two of North Dakota’s most prominent industries – agriculture and energy – to substantially lower CO₂ emissions while helping preserve American energy security, said Mac McLennan, Minnkota President, and CEO.

Mutually beneficial

By working together, Minnkota and Summit will more quickly, efficiently, and cost-effectively advance their projects to commercial operations.

The agreement provides Summit with access to Minnkota’s already permitted 100-million-tonne capacity CO₂ storage site near Center, North Dakota, the largest of only three such permitted sites in the United States.

Summit Carbon Solutions is thrilled to team with Minnkota to accelerate our project and the decarbonization of biofuels and agriculture, which will greatly enhance the economic sustainability of those industries for decades to come, said Wade Boeshans, EVP of Summit Carbon Solutions.

The agreement also creates the framework to jointly develop additional CO₂ storage resources nearby, which are estimated to have aggregate CO₂ storage exceeding 200 million tonnes.

If our nation is to stay competitive during the energy transition, it will require multiple states and industries to work together. Our hope is that this effort can serve as a blueprint for the collaborative thinking that is needed to drive energy innovation forward, Mac McLennan said.

The collaboration is beneficial to both Minnkota’s and Summit’s projects, as it reduces risk, accelerates the timeline for financing and construction, and provides increased operational flexibility when CO₂ storage begins.

These benefits importantly provide landowners an enhanced opportunity to maximize the value of the rock formations deep below the surface.

Working together, Summit Carbon Solutions and Minnkota will permanently and safely sequester tens of millions of tonnes of carbon dioxide every year, which will improve environmental outcomes while supporting industries critical to our region’s future, Wade Boeshans said.

Safe and environmentally sound

In addition to Minnkota’s CO2 storage facilities, Summit is independently developing storage facilities in North Dakota with estimated CO2 storage resources to permanently store approximately 1 billion tonnes of CO2.

This is less than 1 percent of the estimated storage capacity in North Dakota.

Safety and environmental stewardship are vitally important to both Minnkota and Summit.

Once the storage facilities are operational, CO₂ will be permanently stored approximately one mile underground in suitable geologic formations.

The geology in the region has been thoroughly studied and tested to ensure that safety and environmental stewardship can be maintained.

The stringent permitting processes required by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the North Dakota Industrial Commission ensure the safe injection of CO₂ into secure geologic storage formations with constant monitoring to protect the lowermost United States sources of drinking water, and to ensure the CO₂ remains permanently in the storage area.

Minnkota and Summit have been and will be active in communicating with area landowners and other key stakeholders to ensure all development continues to be transparent and collaborative.