N-Flex proponents still expect $1 M grant

Bismarck — Advocates of the N-Flex system to process waste natural gas into ammonium fertilizer at the well site in North Dakota aren’t discouraged that the North Dakota Industrial Commission has put off a decision on awarding a $1 million grant (GM Aug. 20, p. 1) to get the effort off the ground. “The commissioners asked the developer to provide more information, including that on economic stability of the undertaking,” Alison Ritter, spokeswoman for the state department of natural resources, advised Green Markets. ”The commission was enthusiastic about the proposal, but a million dollars is a lot of money for a grant, and they decided that more information is needed.” Ritter added that she expects the issue would be on the commission’s agenda again next month. “It’s a million dollars. That is real cash,” explained Attorney General Wayne Stenehjem, who is a commission member, along with Gov. Jack Dalrymple and Agriculture Commissioner Doug Goehring. N-Flex proponents, including developer Neil Cohn, along with partner Glen Buckley, said they understood the commission’s position and are actually encouraged by the initial response. Buckley, who is also a principal and chief economist for NPKFAS, remarked, “We’re in the process of putting all the information together, and we fully anticipate the commission will approve it. We’re hoping it will be at the next meeting, but if not, then certainly by the end of the year. I don’t really foresee any problems. I believe the commission will approve it because there are real advantages, particularly transportation advantages.” Spencer Wagner, fertilizer specialist for the North Dakota Department of Agriculture, believes N-Flex will be a real benefit for the farmers, who used about 350,000 tons of anhydrous last year. “It would be a very good supplement to the existing supply we have here in the state, some of which comes by truck and rail from Canada, Minnesota, and pretty much anywhere in the Midwest.”