Section 54-63-03 - Industrial commission powers1. The industrial commission may:a. Make grants or loans, and provide other forms of financial assistance as necessary or appropriate, to qualified persons for funding research, development, marketing, and educational projects or activities, feasibility studies, applied research and demonstrations, venture capital investments, and low-interest loans and loan buydowns to foster the development of renewable energy, including wind, biofuels, biomass, solar, hydroelectric, geothermal, and hydrogen, that is produced from the foregoing renewable energy sources. Any financial assistance that the commission awards to a project must not be the project's sole support. Any financial assistance the commission awards must be conditioned on the assurance that the applicant or a third party will support the project by either monetary or nonmonetary means. The amount of this additional support is at the commission's discretion.b. Provide incentives for multifeed facilities to process corn ethanol, cellulosic ethanol, canola biodiesel, and soy biodiesel.c. Provide incentives for scaleable technologies.d. Provide incentives to increase research and utilization of renewable energy coproduct utilization for livestock feed, human food products, and industrial use technologies.e. Execute contracts and all other instruments necessary or convenient for the performance of its powers and functions under this chapter.f. Accept aid, grants, or contributions of money or other things of value from any source, to be held, used, and applied to carry out this chapter, subject to the conditions upon which the aid, grants, or contributions are made, including aid, grants, or contributions from any department, agency, or instrumentality of the United States for any purpose consistent with this chapter.g. Establish interest buydown programs for equipment needed for production, harvest, storage, and transport under the special private lands open to sportsmen pilot program for native grass stands.h. Fund technical assistance from the university system and private entities to producers.i. Establish incentive programs that have as their purpose demonstrating to the agriculture community the commercial feasibility of producing, harvesting, storing, and delivering biomass feedstock. The program may include providing funds to producers of perennial biomass crops, including native grasses, so that such producers have an income during the time needed for these plants to mature and become ready for harvest.j. Provide incentives to support research and demonstration projects and obtain matching grants for projects involving advanced biofuels and sugar-based biofuels.2. The industrial commission may contract with the department of commerce to provide technical assistance to the renewable energy council and the industrial commission to carry out and effectuate the purposes of this chapter, including pursuit of aid, grants, or contributions of money or other things of value from any source for any purpose consistent with this chapter. The department may contract with a public or private third party to provide any or all of the technical assistance necessary to implement the purposes of this chapter.Amended by S.L. 2023 , ch. 473( HB 1062 ), § 4, eff. 8/1/2023.