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Culbertson Peaking Station

Basin Electric plans to add its first generating resource in Montana - a natural-gas fueled peaking unit about eight miles northeast of Culbertson, MT, and will begin obtaining the necessary regulatory approvals for the approximately $100 million project.

The planned location will be near a compressor station on the Northern Border Pipeline. It will use natural gas from Basin Electric’s subsidiary, Dakota Gasification Company, via the pipeline, to spin the turbine. Basin Electric will be using General Electric’s LMS100® simple-cycle gas turbine to provide 100 megawatts (MW) of power to the region. Fuel oil is not planned as a “back-up” fuel at this time but if required, the turbine is capable of being modified to use fuel oil at a later date.

Dick Shaffer, Basin Electric mechanical engineering supervisor and project coordinator, said several regulatory approvals must be obtained before work can begin, giving an approximate construction start date of the fall of 2008 and anticipated completion by fall 2009.

Shaffer said a request has been made to interconnect the peaking station with an existing 115,000-volt transmission line operated by Western Area Power Administration. Discussions are under way with Dry Prairie Rural Water for project water requirements, which may require several miles of pipeline from one of its main lines to the Culbertson site.

The peaking resource represents an addition to Basin Electric’s generating system as a response to the increasing loads of its members, including those in the Williston Basin.

Dick Shaffer, project manager, visits with Culbertson residents at the public scoping meeting held Feb. 26.	Kevin Solie, environmental analyst, explains a project map to Culbertson residents at the scoping meeting.

Project facts

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• Culbertson Peaking Station
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Richard Fristik
Rural Utilities Service      
1400 Independence Ave., SW, Stop 1571
Washington, DC 20250
202-720-5093
Email:  richard.fristik@wdc.usda.gov

Greg Hallsten
Montana DEQ     
1520 East 6th Ave.
Helena, Montana 59620
406-444-3276
Email:  ghallsten@mt.gov

Kevin Solie
Basin Electric Power Cooperative 
1717 E. Interstate Avenue     
Bismarck, North Dakota 58503
701-355-5495
Email:  ksolie@bepc.com

Basin Electric, the USDA's Rural Development, and the Montana Department of Environmental Quality hosted a public meeting on the prosposed peaking station near Culbertson, MT, on Feb. 26. 

The public participation effort  focuses on providing information and gathering input from the public on the new 100-megawatt natural gas-fired combustion turbine Basin Electric proposes to build.