Electric Co-op Today

Basin Electric Power Cooperative is getting a boost from the federal government as it increases its wind power portfolio.

Basin Electric Power Co-op is planning a project in South Dakota similiar to its Prairie Winds ND 1. (Photo By: Basin Electric)

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced that the Bismarck, N.D-based G&T will receive a $204 million loan guarantee through the Rural Utilities Service to help construct 151.5 megawatts of wind energy.

The loan guarantee will provide financing for engineering, procurement, construction, and commissioning of the PrairieWinds SD project, which will operate more than 100 turbines in central South Dakota.

“The investment announced today will help us ‘win the future,’ ” Vilsack said in a statement. “Capturing and converting wind to electricity will create jobs, reduce our reliance on imported energy, and build a reliable source of renewable energy for generations of rural Americans.”

The loan guarantee covers 60 percent of the project’s $340 million total cost.

Through its Prairie Winds SD subsidiary, Basin Electric will purchase all the electricity from the new project. The G&T will have more than 700 MW of wind generation when the project is completed. Construction is expected to start this year.

The Agriculture Department also praised the South Dakota initiative as an example of a successful public-private partnership, noting that South Dakota investors are participating in the venture, along with 32 separate rural land owners who provided land easements.

The South Dakota project is based on a model in North Dakota, called Prairie Winds ND 1, another subsidiary of Basin Electric. At 120 megawatts, PrairieWinds ND is the largest wind project solely owned and operated by an electric co-op in the United States.

Tags: Department of Agriculture, Renewable Energy, Rural Utilities Service, Wind Energy