- North Dakota lignite provides low-cost electricity to people in every part of the state.
- According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, North Dakota has some of the lowest-cost electricity for residential use, ranking 46th out of 51 (50 states plus the District of Columbia).
- The average North Dakota residential electricity price was 10.30 cents per kilowatt hour; the national average was 12.75 cents (2016).
- Low-cost electricity helps farmers, ag processors and manufacturers because it lowers their operating expenses allowing them to achieve higher profits.
- North Dakota produces nearly three times the amount of electricity as is used within the state.
- Over 2 million consumers and businesses in the Upper Midwest use electricity generated from North Dakota lignite.
- The sale of electricity benefits all North Dakotans.
- Over the past 40 years, the state of North Dakota has received more than 1 billion dollars ($1,000,000,000) in tax money from the lignite industry.
- In 2015, lignite companies paid an estimated $100 million in taxes to the state.
- Opportunities are wide open for young people to choose careers in the lignite industry.
- About 15,000 people have jobs related to the lignite industry in North Dakota.
- People in the lignite industry earn some of the highest wages in the state.
- Oliver and Mercer Counties (home to three coal mines and five power plants) are among the top counties with the highest average wages in the state.
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Energy courses and training programs are offered at several North Dakota colleges and universities including those at Bismarck, Minot, Fort Yates, Devils Lake, Wahpeton, Fargo, Grand Forks, and Williston.
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