Ground view of one of the wind turbine sites in Chamberlain, SD.
Basin Electric completed land reclamation on the site where two wind turbines previously stood in Chamberlain, South Dakota.
Reclamation work began in late October 2024, after crops had been harvested from the premises, and finished in early December. The land has been reclaimed to crop land, which is what it was used for prior to the turbines being built. Basin Electric has a long-standing commitment to the environment and the communities it serves, as referenced in its Sustainability Report.
“We took great care to put the land back to its previous condition, including the removal of the foundations to 4 feet below the surface,” Jerry Haas, Basin Electric’s senior property and right-of-way specialist said. “Part of reclamation also involved removing any soil compaction and keeping the topsoil separate from the subsoil.”
Construction crews work on removing the foundations of one of the wind turbine sites.
Communication was key throughout the reclamation process.
“Our Property and Right-of-Way department arranged an onsite meeting with the contractor and landowner before the work commenced, to inform them of the proposed schedule and various work required on the premises,” Haas said. “Another onsite meeting was arranged after the reclamation work was finished, and a final meeting will be scheduled with the landowner this spring to verify if additional reclamation work needs to be addressed.”
The decommissioning of the two wind turbines took place on October 31, 2023. For more information and to view a video of the wind turbine decommissioning, please refer to our story “Basin Electric’s First South Dakota Wind Turbines Dropped”.
The sites of both wind turbines have been restored to their original state of cropland.
