{"id":233672,"date":"2021-09-02T15:14:09","date_gmt":"2021-09-02T20:14:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/csinewsnow.com\/?p=233672"},"modified":"2021-09-02T16:53:09","modified_gmt":"2021-09-02T21:53:09","slug":"otter-tail-intends-to-sell-partial-ownership-coyote-station","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/csinewsnow.com\/?p=233672","title":{"rendered":"Otter Tail intends to sell partial ownership, Coyote Station"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"FERGUS FALLS, Minn. (AP) \u2014 A utility company in western Minnesota plans to end its investment in a coal-fired plant it operates in North Dakota as part of its push to add more sources of renewable energy. Otter Tail Power Co., based in Fergus Falls, plans to sell its 35% stake in the Coyote Station Power Plant in Beulah, North Dakota by 2028. The utility says \u201cmore flexible and economical resource options are available\u201d and it is concerned that its obligation to the plant will become too costly for customers. Otter Tail serves about 137,000 homes and businesses in western Minnesota, North Dakota and South Dakota.<\/p>\n

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Bismarck\u00a0 (Sen. Hoeven’s Office) \u00a0 Senator John Hoeven, a member of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, Thursday issued the following statement after Otter Tail Power Company announced its intent to sell its partial ownership of the Coyote Station Power Plant in Beulah by 2028. Hoeven spoke with Otter Tail President and CEO Chuck MacFarlane this week to discuss the planned sale of the company\u2019s partial ownership and efforts to ensure the station continues operating beyond 2028. The station\u2019s co-owners include the Northern Municipal Power Agency, Montana-Dakota Utilities (MDU) and NorthWestern Energy.<\/p>\n

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\u201cWe\u2019ve worked hard to help ensure coal\u2019s continued role in our nation\u2019s energy mix. This includes pressing for coal to be properly valued as a baseload power source that is available 24\/7, while also advancing efforts to crack the code on CCUS to reduce emissions from coal and a variety of other energy sources,\u201d said Hoeven.\u00a0\u201cFollowing Otter Tail Power\u2019s announcement today, we look forward to working with the other co-owners of Coyote Station to ensure this vital coal-fired baseload facility continues to provide affordable, reliable power to customers in our region.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Ensuring a Fair Value for Coal<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Hoeven is working to ensure coal\u2019s role as a reliable source of baseload power is properly valued. Accordingly, the senator has been\u00a0making the case\u00a0to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC)<\/a> and the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC)<\/a> for the need to maintain diverse sources of electricity to promote the reliability and resiliency of the grid.<\/p>\n

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Cracking the Code on CCUS<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Hoeven has been working for more than a decade to crack the code on carbon capture, utilization and storage (CCUS) technologies to enable the nation to continue making use of its abundant energy resources, like coal, while reducing emissions. To this end, the senator is advancing:<\/p>\n

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