Wednesday, November 1, 2006
CONTACT: Barry E. Piatt
or Brenden Timpe
PHONE: 202-224-2551
DELEGATION ANNOUNCES $67 MILLION CONTRACT FOR EERC PROGRAM TO MANAGE GREENHOUSE GASES
(WASHINGTON, D.C.) --- Senators Byron Dorgan and Kent Conrad and Congressman Earl Pomeroy announced today that the Energy & Environmental Research Center (EERC) in Grand Forks has been awarded a $67 million federal cooperative agreement to accelerate a regional program that is determining the best ways to manage our country’s carbon emissions through carbon dioxide (CO2) sequestration. By capturing and storing CO2, a gaseous byproduct of energy generation, the technique could provide an economic boost for North Dakota’s energy industry and help mitigate the effects of climate change.
“This funding further demonstrates the reputation as a leader in energy research that the EERC has earned,” the delegation said in a joint statement. “By demonstrating the effectiveness of carbon sequestration, this project will help solve a key problem in the fight to mitigate the effects of global climate change. This project will be a boost for our nation’s energy independence and North Dakota’s energy industry.”
The Plains CO2 Reduction (PCOR) Partnership, run by the EERC, is one of only seven groups in the United States selected by the Department of Energy (DOE) to evaluate the best methods for capturing and storing CO2 with Phases I and II of this DOE program. The new funding will allow the Center to play a lead role in Phase III of the program, the delegation said.
The EERC will leverage the funding with an additional $17 million (total project value of at least $85 million) from among its nearly 60 PCOR Partnership members to expedite the deployment of CO2 sequestration technologies in the region. The test will last up to 10 years and help demonstrate the safety and effectiveness of using the technology to manage greenhouse gases.
“The PCOR Partnership is a model program at the EERC that emphasizes its culture of partnerships. The nearly 60 partners, from the central interior of North America, that are involved in the effort are leveraging the facilities, world class expertise, and vision of the EERC with their own financial and technical resources to lead our way to an energy-secure future. We believe that these efforts will allow for the environmentally responsible and synergistic utilization of the region’s bountiful energy resources, including those from our coal, oil, natural gas, and renewable resources,” said EERC Director Gerald Groenewold.
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