E-Mail Page  Print  Feedback

Culbertson Generation Station

Basin Electric has begun the process to obtain permits to construct and operate its first generating resource in Montana - a natural-gas fueled peaking unit located eight miles northeast of Culbertson, MT.  An approximately $100 million project, the unit will be called the Culbertson Generation Station.

The unit will be sited near a compressor station on the Northern Border Pipeline in order to use natural gas from Basin Electric’s subsidiary, Dakota Gasification Company, via the pipeline, to spin its turbine. Basin Electric will be using General Electric’s LMS100® simple-cycle gas turbine to provide about 91 megawatts (MW) of power to the region. Fuel oil is not planned as a “back-up” fuel at this time, but - if required - the turbine is capable of being modified to use fuel oil at a later date.

Dick Shaffer, Basin Electric mechanical engineering supervisor and project coordinator, said several regulatory approvals must be obtained before work can begin, giving an approximate construction start date of the spring of 2009 and anticipated completion by spring of 2010.

Shaffer said a request has been made to interconnect the peaking station with an existing 115,000-volt transmission line operated by Western Area Power Administration. Discussions are under way with Dry Prairie Rural Water for project water requirements, which may require several miles of pipeline from one of its main lines to the Culbertson site.

Culbertson Generation Station is being built in response to the increasing loads of our member-consumers, including those in the Williston Basin.

Project facts

Top of page

E-Mail Page  Print  Feedback

• Culbertson Peaking Station
• Glossary

Learn More

Richard Fristik
Rural Utilities Service      
1400 Independence Ave., SW, Stop 1571
Washington, DC 20250
202-720-5093
Email:  richard.fristik@wdc.usda.gov

Greg Hallsten
Montana DEQ     
1520 East 6th Ave.
Helena, Montana 59620
406-444-3276
Email:  ghallsten@mt.gov

Kevin Solie
Basin Electric Power Cooperative 
1717 E. Interstate Avenue     
Bismarck, North Dakota 58503
701-355-5495
Email:  ksolie@bepc.com

Public comment

Basin Electric, the USDA's Rural Development, and the Montana Department of Environmental Quality hosted a public meeting on the prosposed peaking station near Culbertson, MT, on Feb. 26, 2008. 

This public participation effort  focused on providing information and gathering input from the public on the new 100-megawatt natural gas-fired combustion turbine Basin Electric proposes to build.