Record demand strained the SPP, which serves parts of North Dakota along with 16 other states. Baseload generation fueled by our state's lignite coal does not wait for the wind to blow or the sun to rise. It is the product of an industry, a workforce, and a resource that North Dakota has invested in for decades. Summer heat, winter cold, or record demand, the challenge changes but the need does not. Jonathan Fortner is president and CEO of the Lignite Energy Council