Sunday, December 6, 2009

Coal Drying Plant Nears Completion

The Associated Press is reporting today that the controversial coal drying plant under construction west of Dickinson should be operational by the end of December, according to the plant's owners, Australian-based GTL Energy. GTL officials say they are expecting a shipment of over a million pounds of lignite coal from New Zealand in mid-January. The coal shipment is part of a joint venture between GTL and New Zealand-based Solid Energy, a government owned entity. Depending on the performance of the North Dakota plant in initial tests, Solid Energy may build a similar plant in New Zealand.

The North Dakota plant has been opposed by the Dakota Resource Council, a Dickinson-based environmental group, since GTL's plans were first announced. After an unsuccessful attempt to persuade the North Dakota Public Service Commission that GTL should be required to obtain a coal mining permit, the DRC battled the Stark County Commission over the plant's zoning requirements. A DRC suit objecting to the Commission's rezoning action that allowed constuction to continue was filed in late October.

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