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Bismarck, N.D. – The wind is a frequent visitor on the Dakota prairies, and Basin Electric Power Cooperative intends to explore using that wind once again to its members’ advantage.

Based on the outcome of several studies being conducted over the next two years, 200 or more megawatts (MW) of wind energy could be targeted for development.

Ron Rebenitsch, manager of member marketing, said that Basin Electric is looking at the Minot, N.D., area and central South Dakota for two potential projects of roughly 100 MW each. It’s intended that the new development would be owned and operated by Basin Electric.

These projects would be in addition to Basin Electric’s existing green and renewable resources, consisting of 136 MW of wind energy and 22 MW of heat recovery generation in North Dakota and South Dakota.

To determine the areas with the most wind potential, available wind data and computer modeling information is being used to determine likely areas for initial siting. Local landowners are being contacted, and environmental studies are expected to begin in the next few months.

“We will be setting up anemometers to gather wind data and evaluate the sites before any final decisions are made,” Rebenitsch said.

In addition to the potential for wind, another key factor in deciding to proceed with a wind project is transmission availability and capacity. “Transmission access is critical to any project and dictates the general areas we can site a project,” he said.

The pursuit of additional wind resources reflects Basin Electric’s commitment to its renewable energy goal, which was adopted at Basin Electric’s 2005 annual meeting. The resolution calls for Basin Electric to provide at least 10 percent of its members’ demand for electricity from green or renewable resources by 2010.

“Our region has some of the best wind resources in the world,” Rebenitsch said, “and we are working to develop that resource for the benefit of our members.”

Basin Electric is a consumer-owned, regional cooperative headquartered in Bismarck. It generates and transmits electricity to 121 member rural electric systems in nine states: Colorado, Iowa, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Wyoming. These member systems distribute electricity to about 2.5 million consumers.

Basin Electric’s generating resources include two coal-based power plants in North Dakota – the Antelope Valley Station, Beulah, and the Leland Olds Station, Stanton; a coal-based power plant in Wyoming – the Laramie River Station, Wheatland; an oil-based peaking station – the Spirit Mound Station, Vermillion, S.D.; nine combustion-turbine generators (natural gas) in the Gillette, Wyo., area; two gas-fired peaking stations – the Groton Generation Station near Groton, S.D., and the Wisdom Station Unit 2 near Spencer, Iowa; four wind turbines – two near Minot, N.D., and two near Chamberlain, S.D. Basin Electric purchases the entire output of three wind farms owned and operated by FPL Energy – one near Edgeley/Kulm and one near Wilton in North Dakota, and another near Highmore in South Dakota; and two other 750-kilowatt wind turbines, one located near Pipestone, Minn., and another near Rosebud, S.D. Basin Electric also purchases the entire production of four recovered energy projects located along the Northern Border Pipeline.

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For more information about items in this section, contact Ann Foster, director of communications, Iowa Association of Electric Cooperatives, 515-727-8945 or e-mail: afoster@iowarec.org