Basin Electric Power Cooperative

Basin Electric Power Cooperative is a wholesale electric generation and transmission cooperative based in North Dakota that provides electricity to 2 million customers in nine U.S. states. The roots of the cooperative go back to 1960 when Leland Olds and ten power suppliers created Giant Power Cooperative. Giant Power was first going to be a generation and transmission cooperative, but to keep electricity cheaper for rural customers, Basin Electric Power Cooperative was started in 1961. Today, Basin Electric's power sources include coal, electricity, natural gas, and wind. The current CEO and General Manager is Ronald R. Harper.

Power portfolio
Out of its total 3,444 MW of electric generating capacity in 2005 (0.32% of the U.S. total), Basin Electric got 94.0% from coal, 3.9% from oil, 2.0% from natural gas, and 0.2% from wind. Basin Electric owns power plants in North Dakota, South Dakota, and Wyoming.

Direct purchasing

 * Grand Electric Cooperative - Bison, SD
 * KEM Electric Cooperative - Linton, ND
 * Minnesota Valley Cooperative Light & Power Association - Montevideo, MN
 * Minnesota Valley Electric Cooperative - Jordan, MN
 * Mor-Gran-Sou Electric Cooperative - Flasher, ND
 * Powder River Energy Corporation - Sundance, WY
 * Oliver-Mercer Electric Cooperative - Hazen, ND
 * Rosebud Electric Cooperative - Gregory, SD
 * Wright-Hennepin Cooperative Electric Association - Rockford, MN

Generationg and Transmission (G&T)

 * Central Power Electric Cooperative - Minot, ND
 * Central Montana Electric Power Cooperative - Great Falls, MT
 * East River Electric Power Cooperative - Madison, SD
 * L & O Power Cooperative - Rock Rapids, IA
 * Northwest Iowa Power Cooperative - LeMars, IA
 * Rushmore Electric Power Cooperative - Rapid City, SD
 * Upper Missouri G&T Electric Cooperative - Sidney, MT
 * Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association - Denver, CO

Class D Members

 * Corn Belt Power Cooperative - Humboldt, IA
 * Flathead Electric Cooperative - Kalispell & Libby, MT
 * Wyoming Municipal Power Agency - Lusk, WY

Existing coal-fired power plants
 47.367903, -101.837286, Antelope Valley Station Click here for more information. 42.109018, -104.885866, Laramie River Station Click here for more information. 47.281667, -101.319444, Leland Olds Station Click here for more information.

In 2005 Basin Electric had 3 coal-fired generating stations with 7 total generating units, totalling 3,236 MW of capacity. Here is a list of Basin Electric's coal power plants:

In 2005, Basin Electric's 3 coal-fired power plants emitted 23.9 million tons of CO2 and 66,000 tons of SO2.

USDA approves loan for Antelope Valley CO2 capture
In January 2009, the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced a loan of up to $300 million to Basin Electric Power Cooperative for the development of a demonstration project to capture carbon dioxide emissions at its Antelope Valley Station in Mercer County. Basin Electric is partnering with Powerspan Corp. and Burns & McDonnell to demonstrate CO2 removal from the flue gas of a lignite-based boiler. The project would capture about a million tons of CO2 per year from part of the plant's exhaust stream and send it to oil fields along the pipeline used by the plant.

In July 2009, the project received up to $100 million from the Department of Energy's Clean Coal Power Initiative.

Proposed Coal Plants

 * Dry Fork Station
 * Milton Young 3
 * NextGen Energy Facility

Wind Farms

 * Chamberlain Wind Project
 * Minot Wind Project
 * North Dakota Wind Energy Center I
 * Pipestone Wind Project
 * Rosebud Wind Project
 * South Dakota Wind Energy Center
 * Wilton Wind Energy Center

Peaking Stations

 * Earl F. Wisdom Generating Station Unit 2
 * Groton Generating Station
 * Madison Peaking Units
 * Spirit Mound Station

Other Generating Units

 * Recovered Energy Generation (cogeneration with pipeline pumping)
 * Wyoming Distributed Generation (natural gas units associated with coalbed methane projects)

Subsidiary companies

 * Dakota Gasification Company
 * Dakota Coal Company

Board of Directors

 * President Wayne Child District 5
 * Vice President Cliff Gjellstad District 3
 * Sec/Treasurer Kermit Pearson District 1
 * Asst. Secretary Don Applegate District 4
 * Director Gary Drost District 2
 * Director Wayne Peltier District 9
 * Director Dean McCabe District 8
 * Director Roberta Rohrer District 6
 * Director Reuben Ritthaler District 10
 * Director Roy Ireland District 7

Contact Details
Basin Electric Power Cooperative 1717 East Interstate Ave. Bismarck, North Dakota 58503-0564 USA Phone: 701.223.0441 Website: http://www.basinelectric.com/index.html

Related SourceWatch articles

 * North Dakota and coal
 * Wyoming and coal
 * United States and coal
 * Global warming
 * Rural Electric Cooperatives and Coal