North Dakota coal industry prepares to seize opportunity for growth

By:Jacob Orledge-November 13, 2025  • North Dakota Monitor

Stacey Tschider, center, CEO of Rainbow Energy Center, speaks during the Lignite Energy Council annual meeting on Nov. 13, 2025. The panel also included Carroll Dewing, right, vice president of North American Coal, with moderator Mike Holmes, left, executive vice president of the Lignite Energy Council. (Photo by Jacob Orledge/North Dakota Monitor)

A surging demand for power and the Trump administration’s embrace of the coal industry could lead to the construction of new coal-fired power plants in several states including North Dakota, a coal industry official said Thursday.

“I never would have thought that a few years ago, but today, I think it’s possible,” Carroll Dewing, a vice president of North American Coal, said during the Lignite Energy Council’s annual meeting in Bismarck.

North American Coal, which owns three coal mines in North Dakota, has been discussing that possibility with large tech companies in need of power for data centers, Dewing said. 

“It’s a possibility for something like that happening in North Dakota in the future and maybe not in the long-range future, either,” Dewing said. “I think the country maybe is changing somewhat as far as how they think on baseload power and what it’s going to take to keep things actually lights on.”

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North Dakota coal industry prepares to seize opportunity for growth • North Dakota Monitor