The North Dakota Industrial Commission on March 4 announced that NextEra Energy Resources Development has accepted terms for a $50 million forgivable loan under the state’s Clean Sustainable Energy Authority (CSEA) Fertilizer Development Loan Program, while Prairie Horizon Energy Solutions has declined the terms for a $75 million loan.
At its Jan. 24 meeting, the Industrial Commission approved a CSEA recommendation to authorize $50 million in loan funding to NextEra and $75 million to Prairie Horizon for fertilizer production facilities in Stutsman and Stark counties, respectively (GM Jan. 26, p. 1). The CSEA recommendation also provided for an applicant to receive the full $125 million if the other applicant were to decline funding.
“A subsidiary of NextEra Energy Resources LLC has accepted the conditional forgivable loan commitment,” a NextEra spokesperson told Green Markets. “Completion of the loan transaction is subject to execution of definitive documents. We look forward to the prospect of potentially producing anhydrous ammonia locally and at scale to benefit the North Dakota agriculture sector.” The company added that it is pleased with the allocation of the full loan amount.
The fertilizer loan was authorized by House Bill 1546 during the November 2023 special session, which required the production of hydrogen “by the electrolysis of water” and directed the CSEA to forgive the loan “upon completion of construction of the fertilizer production facility.” The forgiven loan will be paid from the Strategic Investments and Improvement Fund, which receives its funding from oil tax revenue and royalties from state-owned minerals.
CSEA’s Technical Committee had given Prairie Horizon a slightly higher rating than NextEra. Prairie Horizon received 41.75 out of 50, with NextEra’s receiving 39.13. Both projects were called “feasible with conditions.” Both Prairie Horizon and NextEra’s projects would be built with an eye toward eventually constructing a “bolt-on” urea plant.
NextEra’s $1.293 million facility is proposed for the Spiritwood Energy Park near Jamestown, producing 100,000 tons per year of green ammonia. Power would come from wind generation. NextEra is already heavily involved in the state, having invested $3.7 billion in North Dakota wind projects with another in the planning stages.
NextEra has been eyeing a possible fertilizer plant in the state for some time (GM June 2, 2023). It has also signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with CF Industries Holdings Inc. for a joint venture to develop a zero-carbon-intensity hydrogen project at CF’s Verdigris Complex in Oklahoma (GM April 28, 2023), and it is invested in clean technology developer and junior ammonia producer Monolith, Lincoln, Neb., which has plans to produce 275,000 mt/y of ammonia in Nebraska (GM July 15, 2022).
Though declining the terms of the loan, Prairie Horizon collaborator Marathon Petroleum Corp. (MPC) told Green Markets that the project will proceed. “The decision on this loan does not affect our current plans, which includes continued development of the Prairie Horizon project,” a spokesperson said.
Prairie Horizon’s $2.2 billion project would be sited in Dickinson and produce 419,750 tons of ammonia per year. Some 73,000 tons of ammonia production would come via electrolysis and be green. The project would also use natural gas, with that ammonia being blue. Capturing and storing carbon dioxide is part of the plans.
Prairie Horizon is a collaboration between MPC and TC Energy, both of
which are a part of the Heartland Hydrogen Hub (HH2H), which was selected by
the US Department of Energy for up to $925 million to produce low carbon
hydrogen, decarbonize regional supply chains, and create clean energy jobs
across Minnesota, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Wisconsin (GM Oct.
13, 2023).
North
Dakota already has one nitrogen plant. Dakota Gas Co., a subsidiary of Basin
Electric Power Cooperative, Bismarck, produces 1,100 st/d of urea at its Great
Plains Synfuels Plant near Beulah (GM May 25, 2018). It has ammonia
capacity of 110,000 st/y and ammonium sulfate at 400,000 st/y. Diesel exhaust
fluid (DEF) is produced there as well.