MDU Resources plans $3B in capital investments over the next five years

MDU Resources Group, a North Dakota-based energy company, will make $3 billion in capital investments over the next five years through 2026.

In the utility business, the capital investment plan includes replacing, expanding, and modernizing infrastructure within the electric and natural gas distribution systems. These infrastructure investments are designed to ensure the reliability and safety of the company’s systems and support continued customer growth. Specifically, the plan includes the construction of the previously announced Heskett Station Unit IV, an 88-megawatt natural gas-fired combustion turbine near Mandan, N.D. It will replace the company’s Heskett Station Units I and II, which are coal-fired electric generation facilities being retired in early 2022.

The company also anticipates its electric and natural gas utilities will grow rate base by approximately 5 percent annually over the next five years on a compound basis.

“Our capital investment plan supports the significant opportunities we see for organic growth at all our businesses, particularly a focus on infrastructure development and grid reliability and resiliency,” David Goodin, president and CEO of MDU Resources, said.

Capital investments are also planned for the pipeline business, including the North Bakken Expansion project, which will go into service in early 2022, and the Wahpeton Expansion project planned for 2024. These projects will bring pipeline system capacity to over 2.4 billion cubic feet of natural gas per day and help reduce natural gas flaring while allowing producers to move more gas to market.

Further, in the company’s construction materials and services businesses, capital expenditures will be focused primarily on organic expansion opportunities and routine equipment and plant upgrades. Among the projects is the construction of a prestress concrete plant in Spokane, Wash., continued development of the company’s Honey Creek Quarry in Texas, and completion of the company’s training facility in Oregon.

The American Rescue Plan Act, approved in early 2021, provides $1.9 trillion in COVID-19 relief funding for states and local governments, with investments to include transportation enhancements, technology-based facility buildout, and telecommunications infrastructure. Also, MDU Resources expects the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act to provide significant opportunities for both construction materials and services companies.