Dorgan Says Upgraded Energy Grid Would Benefit North Dakota, Nation

Press Release

DORGAN SAYS UPGRADED ENERGY GRID WOULD BENEFIT NORTH DAKOTA, NATION

Senator joins other energy experts at national conference on electricity transmission; discusses stranded energy in North Dakota

U.S. Senator Byron Dorgan (D-ND) today made the case for creating a national superhighway of transmission at a national conference focused on modernizing the nation's electricity transmission system. As the Chairman of the Energy and Water Appropriations panel that funds the nation's energy programs, Dorgan helped craft the energy investments in the recent economic recovery plan, and he will play a role in shaping additional energy legislation that will be considered later this year.

As a panelist at the National Clean Energy Project Conference, Dorgan said that North Dakota is the case study for expanding our nation's electricity grid system.

"North Dakota has long known about the problem with transmission and the energy grid. We are an energy-producing state, and want to get our energy to market," said Dorgan. "But, without upgrading and expanding the infrastructure that allows us to do that, our state will have stranded energy. North Dakota is the Saudi Arabia of wind and we produce vast amounts of energy from oil, coal, and gas. We will not have an opportunity to provide these energy resources to the rest of the country without greatly enhanced transmission capacity."

When signing the economic recovery plan into law, President Obama also singled out North Dakota, and how the lack of transmission in the state affects the nation, saying "It also means that places like North Dakota can produce a lot of wind energy, but can't deliver it to communities that want it, leading to a gap between how much clean energy we are using and how much we could be using."

In addition to Dorgan, panelists for today's conference included Secretary of Energy Steven Chu, Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar, and many business and environmental leaders. Former President Bill Clinton, energy advocate T. Boone Pickens, and others all spoke to the need of upgrading the energy grid to make way for new forms of energy.

"This conference shows a real commitment by our national leaders to invest in our transmission infrastructure and break down the barriers that stand in the way of developing our domestic sources of energy," added Dorgan. "The President himself has voiced a commitment to expanding our energy grid, and it is one of my priorities as chair of the energy appropriations panel and as a senior member of the Energy and Natural Resources Committee. We have included money in the economic recovery plan to create jobs by upgrading the energy grid, and we now need take the next step to allow for increased transmission of North Dakota-produced energy to the rest of the country."

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