NORTH DAKOTA — North Dakota Attorney General Drew Wrigley joined a petition with 22 other states challenging the Environmental Protection Agency’s federal rule requiring coal plants to reduce emission levels. Wrigley says the rule is an unconstitional overreach and would harm North Dakota’s coal-fired energy production.

The federal rule would set standards for existing coal-fired and natural gas power plants, making them use carbon capture and sequestration to capture 90% of their emissions by 2032.

The EPA estimates the rules will reduce carbon pollution by up to 1.38 billion metric tons through 2047, equal to the annual emissions released by 328 million gasoline cars.

National Rural Electric Cooperative Association CEO James Matheson says the rule comes at a time when the country’s electrical grid already faces challenges.

“I don’t think the EPA really considered reliability when it drafted this rule,” Mattheson said during a virtual press conference on Tuesday, May 14.

Minnkota Power Cooperative’s Mac McLennan says more than 40% of their power comes from renewable energy like wind. But wind power is not always an option.

“When we experienced extreme cold events, during those time frames, that 35% of our supply surrounding wind completely falls off,” McLennan said. “The only way during those cold spells that we’ve been able to keep the lights on, it’s been coal units.

Without the safety net of coal power, he worries people around the state could face blackouts in extreme weather events.

“During normal peak conditions, 19 states are now at risk,” Matheson said. “That’s a trend that should get our attention. This rule makes it worse.”

Minnkota has been developing Project Tundra, an initiative to build one of the largest carbon capture facilities in the world. But McLennan says that technology isn’t ready for prime time.

“What EPA has done in this rule, ultimately, is unrealistic for most plants in this country,” McLennan said.

The NRECA has filed a motion to stay the EPA power plant rule.

Mike McGurran has been a reporter and anchor at WDAY-TV since 2021.