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Apple or even Google,” he continues. “And I
think we have missed a few opportunities—
like Microsoft did—to reshape our image as
one of industry leaders and technology innovators,
and we need to regain that mantle.”
The coal industry in North Dakota is
proud of its environmental track record.
Reclamation efforts like the Glenharold Mine
located near Stanton, ND, is an example of
North Dakota’s commitment to returning
mined lands to as good as, or better, condition
than before mining activities.
Reversing the rap
Changing a broad, long-standing stigma
can be challenging. The coal industry is
cleaner than it has ever been but many people
still hold onto the idea that it is a dirty fuel
that is an environmental hazard. But with
new practices and procedures, the use of coal
for energy is expected to grow throughout the
United States and around the world. The process
of using coal for energy is complicated,
and that makes it difficult to change opinions
on a large scale.
“The biggest misconception is that we are
the dirty fuel of the past,” says Bohrer. “The
biggest challenges are getting people to understand
the complex nature of the electricity
generation, transmission and distribution
systems, intermittent load vs. base load, and
to think of fuels like coal, nuclear, wind or
hydro not as competitors but as partners in
building the best energy portfolio possible.”
Bohrer also notes that there is no perfect
energy source. Any source of energy generation
has environmental impacts. In North
Dakota, every effort is made to make the environmental
impact of extracting lignite coal
as minimal as possible.
“Our mines, over their lifetimes, have an
extremely small environmental footprint—
they do an amazing job at environmental
remediation,” says Bohrer. “At the power
plants, we have actually done an amazing job
of removing so much of the pollutants, such
as sulfur dioxide or mercury, that about the
only thing you hear about now is the CO 2
,
which we are working to reduce as well, even
though it isn’t a pollutant in the strictest sense
of the word.”
Expanding down under
As lobbying efforts continue, Bohrer says
North Dakota officials are very supportive of
the coal industry. It provides close to $100
million per year to the State treasury. “The
state’s bountiful water and lignite resources
made this a great place to develop coal conversion
facilities,” he says. “Our lobbying
efforts are geared toward providing accurate
information on the benefits of the lignite industry,
and answering any questions that officials
might have.”
An important development in the global
coal industry has been the partnership between
the North Dakota Lignite Energy
Council and Brown Coal Innovation Australia.
The two organizations signed a reciprocal
106 The Official Publication of the North Dakota Association of Oil & Gas Producing Counties