Basin Electric’s ultimate goal and commitment to our membership is that we will do everything we can to keep reliability simple — when you flip the switch, the light comes on.
Our cooperative is able to respond to many of the challenges our industry is facing in unique ways. The geographical location of Basin Electric means our member load and generators exist on both the West and East Interconnection; our firm access to Direct Current (DC) ties enables us to move electricity back and forth across the divide as needed. Additionally, the generators are located in several markets giving access to the benefits available in each area.
Both the Transmission and Marketing teams have found near-term solutions to alleviate the economic impacts of congestion and price volatility, but in the long-term, investment in adequate transmission and generation infrastructure will help keep rates affordable. As Basin Electric adds transmission and generation infrastructure to alleviate congestion, the cooperative can lean less on potentially volatile market purchases to serve load.
Investing in Concrete and Steel
While power markets and regional transmission organizations offer value in the ability to buy and sell power when a utility generates more or less electricity than they need, relying on the market isn’t enough.
On the generation side of the business, Basin Electric is building the largest single-site generation project in North Dakota since the 1980s. The cooperative began construction on the Pioneer Generation Station Phase IV site near Williston, North Dakota, in March 2023. The project represents an investment of about $800 million.
This 580-megawatt natural gas-fueled generating site will serve as an important component to Basin Electric’s all-of-the-above energy strategy. Because natural gas generators can start up quickly, they work well alongside renewable generation to ramp up and down as electricity is needed.
On the transmission side, Basin Electric is constructing a massive addition to its transmission infrastructure, with nearly 350-miles of high-voltage transmission line to be energized by the end of 2027.
This transmission infrastructure will be built in northwest North Dakota. This additional transmission will increase the load-serving capability of the area, increase the transfer capability in the region, allow additional loads or generation, and include a couple new delivery points for Basin Electric’s members, adding redundancy to their load-serving capability.
In addition to building new transmission, the cooperative’s current system is being upgraded systematically over several years. A team identified which transmission facilities are the most impactful and built a plan to replace the equipment with newer technology to make sure those facilities will be reliable for the next 40-50 years.
Renewables Provide Mitigation
Renewables are part of Basin Electric’s all-of-the-above energy strategy; both owned projects and power purchase agreements bring value in their fixed fuel cost, providing mitigation against volatile fuel markets.
Basin Electric has invested in and committed to more than $6 billion in renewable resources through direct investments and annual payments under purchased power agreements. With more than 2,100 megawatts of renewable capacity in its portfolio,
Basin Electric has the largest renewable portfolio of any generation and transmission cooperative in the nation.
Part of that investment included building the largest wind projects in the nation solely owned by a cooperative, in North Dakota and South Dakota. These projects, built from 2009-2011, are eligible for repowering within the next couple years. To repower a wind turbine can mean anything from simply updating software so that the turbine is able to generate more electricity to changing out the blades so they catch more wind. This enables the wind project’s useful life to be extended beyond 25 years.
For the first time, in 2024, Basin Electric is purchasing large-scale solar generation to serve its members. Wild Springs Solar is a 128-megawatt project located near New Underwood, South Dakota, from which Basin Electric purchases 114 megawatts of its output.
