It’s been on the drawing board since 2013 but supporters of the proposed Northern Plains Nitrogen plant in Grand Forks say the timing may never be better. The company has been working to secure needed investors to support the $2.5 billion dollar plant. NPN is looking to tap water from the city’s sewage lagoons to make fertilizer.
City Administrator Todd Feland says recent new wastewater customers plus the announcement by the Fufeng Group to establish a corn milling plant will provide more than the needed greywater that NPN requires.
Feland says there are other recent positives as well. “We know we are likely to be served with natural gas from the Bakken at a lower cost which was always a dream of the project. We are still underserved with prices up for nitrogen fertilizer. And we may be growing more corn which needs fertilizer.”
City officials are awaiting the results of a plume aviation analysis because of the NPN plant’s potential proximity to the Grand Forks Airport. A new site selection is also a possibility.
The council gave preliminary approval to another six month extension on a Letter of Intent agreement with NPN this week.
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