Senator Kent Conrad | North Dakota
Welcome
Thank you for visiting my Senate Web site. One of the most important parts of my job as Senator is to help provide services and information to my constituents in North Dakota.

I hope you find this Web site both useful and interesting.

Kent Conrad

How can I help you?
In Your Community
Map: North Dakota
South West South East North East North West

Issues

Energy Accomplishments

Senator Conrad has supported several major legislative initiatives recently that promote domestic sources of energy and strengthen energy efficiency efforts.

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act

One focus of the economic stimulus package is an effort to move our country toward a cleaner, more efficient energy future. These investments will jumpstart the economy and strengthen North Dakota's booming energy industry.

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act invests in North Dakota's energy future in several ways. Specifically, the ARRA includes

  • $24.5 million for the North Dakota State Energy Program, which promotes energy conservation and efficiency. Read more about the State Energy Program here.
  • $25 million for the Weatherization Assistance Program in North Dakota, which helps hundreds of families across the state reduce their energy bills through home improvements. Click here to apply for Weatherization Assistance.
  • $12.8 million to North Dakota through the Energy Efficiency & Conservation Block Grant Program, which provides grants to local governments, states, territories, and Indian tribes for projects that reduce energy use and fossil fuel emissions, and that improve energy efficiency. Click here to see how EECBG funds have been distributed to North Dakota.
  • $3.4 billion nationally for carbon capture and sequestration technology research and development. This will help ensure that North Dakota's coal can continue to generate affordable electricity while lowering emissions.
  • $6 billion nationally to strengthen the federal loan guarantee program for renewable energy and electricity transmission projects. This funding will help move renewable electricity from North Dakota's prairies to more urban markets like Minneapolis and Chicago.

As a senior member of the Senate Finance Committee, which has jurisdiction over tax policy, Senator Conrad played a leading role in helping craft the tax provisions of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. These incentives include:

  • A 3-year extension of the production tax credit for wind facilities, which creates more certainty for potential investors.
  • An expansion of tax credits to encourage more businesses to install biofuel and hydrogen refueling stations, a major hurdle to the more widespread use of these alternative fuels.
  • An expansion of consumer tax credits for energy efficiency. Click here to view a full list of available tax credits.
  • A new 30 percent tax credit for businesses that manufacture components for the production of renewable energy, energy storage, energy conservation, efficient transmission and distribution of electricity, and carbon capture and sequestration.

Click here to see how much of the stimulus funding North Dakota receives for energy initiatives and other issues.

Read more about the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act here.

Fiscal Year 2010 Budget

As Chairman of the Senate Budget Committee, Senator Conrad played a leading role in passing a FY 2010 congressional budget that builds on the energy initiatives in the recent economic recovery package with continued investments in clean energy technology, energy efficiency, and modernization of our energy infrastructure.

Read more about the FY 2010 Budget Resolution here.

2008 Farm Bill

As a lead negotiator of the 2008 Food, Conservation, and Energy Act (the Farm Bill), Senator Conrad strongly supported the important energy provisions of this legislation. Overall, the Farm Bill provides more than $1.5 billion in new energy incentives to reduce our dependence on foreign energy and spur the development of a home-grown energy industry in North Dakota. This includes tax incentives to advance production of cellulosic ethanol, which can be made from wood or the prairie grasses native to North Dakota; and funding to assist farmers in establishing and harvesting renewable biomass crops.

Read more about the Farm Bill here.