The House Energy and Natural Resources committee received an update on the Clean Sustainable Energy Authority from staff at the Bank of North Dakota and the Industrial Commission, who outlined how the authority evaluates applications, how it funds approved projects and which large projects are in the authority’s pipeline.

Bank of North Dakota chief business development officer Kelvin Holod told the committee the program uses multiple review steps before a funding decision reaches the Industrial Commission, which makes the final allocation votes. "As applications come in and go through the process, there are several checks to ensure that as the project is coming through, it meets the intent of the Clean Sustainable Energy Authority," Holod said. He described an initial review, a technical review committee specified in the enabling legislation, a bank economic viability review and then the authority’s recommendations to the Industrial Commission.

Holod explained the program’s cash-management approach: the legislature established a line of credit at the Bank of North Dakota rather than funding a large cash balance up front. The bank said the line is currently in the roughly $373 million range and that funds are moved from that line into a revolving loan fund only when projects are ready to draw. Holod told the committee the revolving loan fund currently holds roughly $3.3 million in repayments; about $44 million in loans are outstanding and the authority has approved commitments totaling roughly $333 million. He said the program charges a fixed 2 percent interest rate on loans originated through the authority.

Committee members pressed several policy points: how much private capital must be committed before state funds are used, whether the authority is funding early-stage research or later-stage projects, and how the state limits risk when very large loans are approved. Holod and the authority’s co-chair described a market-validation approach: grants have been used to support earlier-stage, R&D-like activities and the authority is now emphasizing projects closer to final investment decision and private-sector financing. The authority requires a 50-50 match on awarded grants and loans, Holod said: "If Clean Sustainable says we're going to provide a grant for $1,000,000 that entity has to provide $1,000,000 as well."

Major commitments and project status
- Minn Kota / Project Tundra: Holod said the authority currently has a $250 million loan commitment to the Minn Kota carbon-capture project (Project Tundra). He said the developer has been value-engineering the project after updated cost estimates rose above original projections and that the Department of Energy has a previously announced federal commitment of about $350 million. Holod said he expects Minn Kota may make an investment decision in the first half of 2025 but that the project has not drawn the state loan in full.

- NextEra green fertilizer project: Holod said the authority has a conditional commitment characterized in committee discussion as a $125 million completion grant or forgivable loan to incentivize construction of a fertilizer plant near Jamestown. He said the money will not be paid until the company meets defined milestones (certificate of occupancy, nameplate production thresholds), and that no funds have been disbursed; NextEra has only a commitment letter at this stage.

- Other projects: the authority has loans or loan commitments for Packet Digital (about $17 million of a roughly $70 million project), Valence natural gas capture projects, Badlands, and carbon capture projects described as HLCP/Prodco. Holod noted the authority’s loan component typically participates as part of a larger financing package with a lead financial institution, rather than being the sole lender.

Legislators raised follow-up concerns about timing and local impacts. Senator Patton and other members said the authority now seeks more detailed infrastructure impact assessments for host communities — including roads, water and power — and that some projects may create local infrastructure needs measured in the tens of millions. Holod said the authority’s nonvoting technical advisors — state agencies such as transportation and water resources — have been asked to review project infrastructure impacts and that the authority has a bill draft to add the Department of Water Resources as a formal reviewer.

Grant administration and accountability
Jordan Conneon, deputy director at the Industrial Commission, and Erin Stieg, the commission’s grant administrator, described contract and reporting requirements for awarded grants. Stieg said awards are formalized in state contracts reviewed by the Attorney General’s office and that the commission typically requires quarterly progress reports tied to milestone documentation and matching-fund verification before making grant payments. "As long as the milestones are being met and the matching funds have been spent and documentation is provided, then we go ahead and make a payment," she said. If milestones are missed the commission will request documentation and engage in follow-up conversations.

What the committee was told it should expect
Holod said the authority has drawn around $30 million in prior sessions and expects that figure could grow to about $100 million on the line by the end of the biennium, which the bank has shared with the governor’s office and the Office of Management and Budget. He advised the legislature that very large single commitments can be spread over multiple bienniums by "terming out" repayments rather than paying one large principal amount in a single session.

No formal votes occurred during the update. Committee members asked the bank to provide the committee with additional financial worksheets showing how a larger revolving fund would affect available loan credit on a biennial basis.

Ending
Committee chairs asked staff to circulate the bank’s slides and a more detailed project-status spreadsheet to committee members. Holod and the Industrial Commission staff offered to supply additional written materials on specific projects and on the authority’s underwriting timelines.