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Groton Generation Station 1

Groton Generation Station 1

Basin Electric’s new peaking station, the Groton Generation Station 1, went into commercial operation on July 1, 2006. The $69-million station is located near Groton, SD.

The station was recently named one of POWER Magazine's Top Plants: six model gas-fired plants for 2007.

It is fueled with natural gas supplied from Dakota Gasification Company via the Northern Border Pipeline. The station is connected to a nearby substation operated by Western Area Power Administration (Western).

The station will operate as peaking capacity during high market conditions, and be used to meet Basin Electric’s power pool obligations. The additional 96.1 megawatts available from the station will assist Basin Electric in meeting its summer peak load obligations.

Construction on the facility began in August 2005. By November, the gas turbine generator was delivered, and in April 2006, the generator had its first fire. It reached full-load operation in May and after further performance and reliability testing, it was deemed ready for commercial operation.

The GE LMS100® simple cycle gas turbine installed at Groton is the first commercial application of its kind. A second unit is currently under construction.

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