Why North Dakota environmentalists oppose a clean and sustainable energy program thedickinsonpress.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from thedickinsonpress.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
The fossil fuel and ethanol industries made a pitch Thursday for a new arm of the North Dakota Industrial Commission meant to advance cleaner energy technologies.
Critics expressed concerns about subsidizing the energy sector and said the proposal gives unequal treatment to renewable power.
House Bill 1452, introduced by Rep. Glenn Bosch, R-Bismarck, would establish the Clean Sustainable Energy Authority. The agency would be tasked with overseeing the distribution of $25 million from North Dakotaâs general fund in the form of grants and loans for projects that âreduce environmental impacts and use energy sources derived from within the state.â
âWe really, truly need to become the world leader in the production of fossil fuel energy but it does need to do what consumers are demanding,â North Dakota Petroleum Council President Ron Ness told the House Energy and Natural Resources Committee. âWeâre in a battle between producing states and consuming s