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Basin Electric nationally awarded for wind generation efforts

Basin Electric receives an award from the U.S. Department of Energy for outstanding leadership with wind power.

Basin Electric Power Cooperative - February 15, 2010

Bismarck, N.D. – Basin Electric’s efforts in wind energy development achieved special recognition from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Feb. 13 during the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association’s (NRECA) TechAdvantage Conference in Atlanta.

Basin Electric received the DOE’s “Wind Powering America Program” Special Achievement Award for the cooperative’s “outstanding leadership with wind power and significant contributions to the wind power industry.”

The award, jointly sponsored by the DOE and NRECA, was judged by a panel of wind, utility, government and electric cooperative experts.

“The award is a tremendous honor,” says Ron Harper, Basin Electric CEO and general manager. “We have made great strides in wind development in the Dakotas, and are pleased to have this valuable resource be an integral part of our energy mix. Basin Electric has committed to more than 600 megawatts (MW) of wind resources – either operating or in development – including the largest wind project owned and operated by a cooperative in the nation.”

In 2005, Basin Electric’s membership passed a resolution setting a goal that 10 percent of the co-op members’ electricity demand be provided from green or renewable forms of energy. “Basin Electric has been working hard to meet that directive ever since, and today, the cooperative is emerging as a national leader in developing renewable energy in the region,” Harper said. “By the end of 2010, Basin Electric is on track to have green or renewable generation with an installed capacity equal to more than 20 percent of current member load.”

2009 highlights, 2010 plans

In late December 2009, Basin Electric added an additional 120 MW of wind generation near Minot, N.D. The project is the largest to be solely owned by a cooperative in the United States. Basin Electric formed PrairieWinds ND 1 Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary, to finance, construct, own, and operate the wind projects in the area. The 80 additional wind turbines generate enough electricity to serve more than 35,000 homes on an average annual basis.

Another 2009 project was an expansion of the Wilton Wind Energy Center built and operated by NextEra Energy Resources. The original 49.5 MW wind project was built in 2005-2006, and Basin Electric purchases the entire output of the project through a long-term power purchase agreement. In 2009, Basin Electric and NextEra Energy entered into an additional power purchase agreement for an additional 33 turbines at the site, bringing the wind project’s total capacity to 99 MW.

Basin Electric also plans to expand its renewable energy footprint in South Dakota. In October 2009, Basin Electric and NextEra Energy entered into an agreement to develop a wind project in Day County, near Groton, SD. Basin Electric will purchase the entire output from this 99-megawatt project, which is currently under construction.

The cooperative is planning another cooperative-owned wind project in central South Dakota. PrairieWinds SD1 will be a 151.5 MW-project, and preliminary siting and permitting is currently under way. The project is expected to be complete in early 2011.

Through direct investments and annual payments under power purchase agreements from other renewable resources, these projects represent a capital investment of more than $1 billion in renewable energy.

Related videos

Visit the video gallery on www.basinelectric.com. You'll find a video showing the final day of construction at our PrairieWinds 1 project. Also, check out our "Ask the Expert" video gallery. You'll find videos answering questions about wind energy.

About Basin Electric Power Cooperative

Basin Electric is a consumer-owned, regional cooperative headquartered in Bismarck, N.D. It generates and transmits electricity to 135 member rural electric systems in nine states: Colorado, Iowa, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Wyoming. These member systems distribute electricity to about 2.8 million consumers.

Basin Electric’s generating resources include: two coal-based power plants in North Dakota – the Antelope Valley Station, Beulah, and the Leland Olds Station, Stanton; a coal-based power plant in Wyoming – the Laramie River Station, Wheatland; three peaking stations – the Spirit Mound Station, Vermillion, S.D.; the Groton Generation Station Groton, S.D., and the Wisdom Unit 2 Station, Spencer, Iowa; nine combustion-turbine generators (natural gas) in the Gillette, Wyo., area; four wind turbines – two near Minot, N.D., and two near Chamberlain, S.D.; and 80 wind turbines near Minot, N.D. (2010). Basin Electric is also the sole purchaser of electricity from sources operated by others including: six baseload waste-heat stations owned and operated by Ormat Technologies Inc. along the Northern Border Pipeline; the output of three wind farms owned and operated by NextEra Energy Resources, Juno Beach, Fla. (These wind farms are located near Wilton and Edgeley/Kulm, N.D.; the other is near Highmore, S.D.)

Basin Electric has long-term, purchase power agreements of varying capacities from the George Neal Station Unit 4 (coal-based), Sioux City, Iowa, operated by MidAmerican Energy; the Walter Scott, Jr. Energy Center (coal-based) units 3 and 4, Council Bluffs, Iowa, operated by MidAmerican Energy; the Wisdom Station (coal based), Spencer, Iowa, operated by Corn Belt Power Cooperative; peaking stations located in Spencer, Estherville, Pocahontas, and Webster City, Iowa; the Duane Arnold Energy Center (nuclear), Cedar Rapids, Iowa, operated by NextEra Energy Resources; the Municipal Energy Agency of Nebraska; and three Iowa wind farms – near Superior/Lakota, operated by Iowa Lakes Electric Cooperative; in Hancock County operated by NextEra Energy Resources and in Palo Alto County operated by Crosswind Energy, LLC. For more information, go to www.basinelectric.com.

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