A revised permit application for a coal mine to be located west of Dickinson reportedly has been submitted to the North Dakota Public Service Commission by a subsidiary of Texas-based Great Northern Project Development. The company previously filed applications in October 2008 and March 2010. Both were rejected due to numerous deficiencies.
If approved, the mine would be part of an energy complex that would include a coal-drying plant and a power generating plant fueled by hydrogen made from gasified lignite. Great Northern previously discarded plans for a coal-to-synthetic natural gas plant and a lignite-fired power plant for the same site. An overview of the current plan is available here.
The project has been controversial since it was first proposed. Numerous groups, most notably the Dakota Resouce Council, have raised several environmental questions. There also has been confusion about the relationship between Great Northern's proposed project and a coal-drying plant built nearby by an Australian company, GTL Energy. A timeline of the project's convoluted history is available here.
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