Clouds continue to gather over the $4 billion coal liquification project planned for western North Dakota. According to an Associated Press article out today, backers of the project appear to believe the project is unlikely to happen unless the Democratic majority in Congress is displaced in the upcoming elections.
The plant would use low-grade lignite coal to produce 460 million gallons of gasoline a year. It would also generate electricity both to power the plant and to sell to neighboring states.
The project was orignally a joint venture for Dallas-based North American Coal Corp., Headwaters Inc. of South Jordan, Utah, and Great River Energy, of Elk River, Minn. The three companies formed American Lignite Energy LLC four years ago to build the plant at a site in western North Dakota that has not yet been determined. Great River Energy withdrew from the project last year after determining it did not need the plant's electricity to keep up with increased customer demand.
The North Dakota Industrial Commission committed $10 million in 2006 for a feasibility study and set a deadline of 2008 to decide whether to go ahead with the project. The deadline was extended to 2009, and the project's remaining backers have asked that it be extended again to 2010.
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