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Day County Wind Farm operational

66 wind turbines are spinning - Day County Wind Project near Groton, SD, was placed into operation April 7, 2010.

Basin Electric Power Cooperative - April 15, 2010

Bismarck, N.D. – At about 6 p.m. April 7, another generating project for Basin Electric was placed into operation. It was the Day County Wind Project about 20 miles east of Groton, S.D. Day County is owned and operated by NextEra Energy Resources, Juno Beach, Fla. It has a generating capacity of 99 megawatts (MW) and features 66, 1.5-MW wind turbines. By April 1, East River Electric Power Cooperative, Madison, S.D., had completed the final 9.5 miles of transmission line, in addition to the existing 12-mile electric transmission system, which was necessary to connect the wind farm to the grid. On April 6, the substation and transmission line were ready to be energized.

Basin Electric has committed to purchasing the entire production from the project; however, during the first three years of operation the electricity produced will be sold to the Western Area Power Administration, a federal power marketing agency.

“Basin Electric and its member systems are leaders in helping to develop wind projects in the Dakotas,” says Ron Harper, CEO and general manager of Basin Electric. “In just five months, a lot of hard work by a lot of people brought this project from the drawing board to reality. I’m very proud of our efforts in providing renewable generation to our members and incorporating it with an already efficient fleet of generation facilities.”

This is the fifth agreement between Basin Electric and NextEra Energy Resources with NextEra Energy Resources building, owning and operating a large wind project and Basin Electric purchasing the electricity. The other four wind projects are located near Wilton (two phases) and Edgeley, N.D., and Highmore, S.D.
NextEra Energy Resources began construction of the Day County project in October 2009. Planning is under way for a dedication ceremony to be held at the site June 22.

“This short-term purchase from Basin Electric fits our strategic goals for purchasing replacement power, and we are excited that this purchase is from a renewable resource. Western recognizes how valuable customer partnerships are as we seek to provide our customers with reliable, cost-based power and energy. This agreement is just one of many successful partnerships Western has with Basin Electric,” says Tim Meeks, Western’s Administrator.

“East River is pleased to be a part of expanding the use of wind energy for both its members and Basin Electric. East River’s workforce demonstrated exceptional efforts building transmission to energize this project. We are pleased to be an integral part of making this project happen,” says Jeff Nelson, East River general manager.

“I greatly appreciate East River’s participation in this project. Their helpfulness and expertise in transmission delivery are a demonstration of the strength of the cooperative family,” Harper says.

John DiDonato, vice president of wind development for NextEra Energy Resources says, “We are pleased to again partner with Basin Electric to bring the economic and environmental benefits of wind power to South Dakota. We appreciate Basin Electric’s commitment to wind power as well as the cooperation of our other partners, East River, and the Western Area Power Administration in helping make this project a reality.”

The Day County project adds to the cooperative family presence near Groton. Basin Electric has developed a two-unit peaking station just south of Groton. Those units were placed in commercial operation in 2006 and 2008, respectively. The Groton Generation Station not only provides peaking capacity but also stability for Western’s transmission system in the region.

“The wind project near Groton will connect into East River’s existing transmission system,” Harper says. “As the original power supplier to electric cooperatives in the region, Western built and maintains the backbone transmission grid to deliver electric power. As those cooperatives grew, Basin Electric and East River were formed to supplement that system, blending the hydro and thermal power for long-term power supply.”

Harper is eager to build on Basin Electric’s relationship with NextEra Energy Resources to develop additional wind generation in the region. “This really provides a quadruple benefit for Basin Electric, NextEra Energy Resources, East River and Western. Basin Electric has a new resource of renewable energy, NextEra Energy Resources is able to develop the project because they have a buyer, East River provided the transmission facility, and the Western Area Power Administration can purchase another portion of renewable energy to meet its drought-related replacement energy needs,” Harper says.

Additionally, Basin Electric recently completed construction of the nation’s largest cooperative-owned wind project near Minot, N.D. The project was completed in December 2009. It has a generating capacity of 120 megawatts. Basin Electric is planning another cooperative-owned 151.5-megawatt wind project near Crow Lake, S.D. That project is scheduled to be complete late this year or early 2011.

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. For more information, go to www.basinelectric.com.

About East River Electric Cooperative

East River Electric Power Cooperative is a wholesale electric power supply cooperative distributing power to 25 member systems throughout eastern South Dakota and western Minnesota. As members of Touchstone Energy® Cooperatives, East River members serve more than 92,000 homes and businesses affecting 250,000 consumers over a 36,000 square mile service area. For more information go to: www.eastriver.coop

About Western Area Power Administration

Western Area Power Administration is a Federal agency that annually markets and transmits more than 10,000 megawatts of clean, renewable power from hydroelectric power plants owned and operated by the Bureau of Reclamation and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in 15 western and central states. It is part of the Department of Energy. Learn more about Western at www.wapa.gov.

About NextEra Energy Resources

NextEra Energy Resources is a clean energy leader and one of the largest competitive energy suppliers in North America. A subsidiary of Juno Beach, Fla.-based FPL Group (NYSE: FPL), NextEra Energy Resources is the largest generator in North America of renewable energy from the wind and sun. It operates clean, emissions-free nuclear power generation facilities in New Hampshire, Iowa and Wisconsin as part of the FPL Group nuclear fleet, which is the third largest in the U.S. FPL Group had 2008 revenues of more than $16 billion, approximately 39,000 megawatts of generating capacity, and more than 15,000 employees in 27 states and Canada.

For more information, visit these Web sites: www.NextEraEnergyResources.com, www.FPLGroup.com.

Media Contacts:

Basin Electric: Floyd Robb (701) 557-5607, frobb@bepc.com
Basin Electric: Daryl Hill (701) 557-5602, dhill@bepc.com
Western Area Power Administration: Randy Wilkerson, (720) 962-7056, Wilkerson@wapa.gov
East River Electric Power Cooperative: Scott Parsley (605) 256-4536, sparsley@eastriver.coop
NextEra Energy Resources: Steve Stengel, (888) 867-3050, steven.stengel@nexteraenergy.com