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Power plants break records in 2009

2009 was a record-setting year for Basin Electric’s three coal-based generating stations in North Dakota and Wyoming, especially during the month of December.

Basin Electric Power Cooperative - January 8, 2010

Bismarck, N.D. – 2009 was a record-setting year for Basin Electric’s three coal-based generating stations in North Dakota and Wyoming, especially during the month of December.

The North Dakota plants are the Antelope Valley Station near Beulah and the Leland Olds Station near Stanton. The Wyoming power plant is the Laramie River Station near Wheatland.

Mike Fluharty, Basin Electric’s vice president of plant operations, said Leland Olds set a station generation record that hasn’t been surpassed since May 1978. Both units produced a total of 444,196 net megawatt-hours (MWh) of electricity in December 2009. The previous record was 440,052 MWh.

Leland Olds Unit 1 has a rated generating capacity of 222 megawatts (MW); Unit 2 is rated at 447 MW.

At Antelope Valley, Fluharty reported Unit 1 set a generation record of 324,171 net MWh for a 31-day month in December, surpassing a January 2006 mark of 321,789 MWh. Both units at Antelope Valley combined achieved the third-highest ever availability rating of 96.35 percent.

Fluharty said this is an indication the plants are well-maintained and operated. “These are baseload power plants – they run 24-hours a day, seven days a week, in good weather and bad. They are the backbone of Basin Electric’s generating fleet of power plants,” he said.

Each of the two units at Antelope Valley has a rated generating capacity of 450 MW.

At Laramie River, all three units there set individual and combined generation records during December.

Unit 1 set a record for producing 413,022 net MWh during the month. The old record was 407,864 net MWh in March 2003.
Unit 2 set a new record of 417,018 net MWh during the month. The old record of 414,545 net MWh was set in July 2008.
Unit 3 set a new record of 422,730 net MWh during the month. The old record of 409,707 net MWh was set in July 2008.

As a station, a generation record of 1,252,770 net MWh was also set for the month. The old record of 1,216,370 net MWh was set in March 2005.

Units 1, 2, and 3 at Laramie River have a rated generating capacity of 565 MW, 562 MW and 570 MW, respectively.

“We have a very reliable and capable fleet of power plants to meet the needs of our member cooperatives in nine states,” Fluharty said. “I’m proud of the people who work hard day-in and day-out to keep them running.”

About Basin Electric Power Cooperative

Basin Electric is a consumer-owned, regional cooperative headquartered in Bismarck, N.D. It generates and transmits electricity to 136 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 http://www.basinelectric.com/Electricity/Generation/index.html.