BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — The Great Plains Synfuels Plant in western North Dakota is expected to restart this week after production was halted a month for maintenance work.
Bismarck-based Basin Electric Power Cooperative says its plant near Beulah was shut down on June 1 for maintenance work pegged at $46 million.
Company spokeswoman Mary Miller says the plant is expected to be at full production on Thursday.
The plant was built in response to the energy crisis of the 1970s to make natural gas from lignite, a low-grade coal abundant in North Dakota.
Natural gas from the plant is piped to Iowa, where it is distributed to markets in the eastern and southeastern United States.
The shutdown was estimated to cost its owners about $1 million daily in lost natural gas sales.