Success Stories for North Dakota
Emissions Accord Reached on North Dakota Plant; Coops to Also Finance $5 million in Renewable Energy Development Projects: Minnkota Power Cooperative (Minnkota)
(ND-020), Grand Forks, North Dakota, and the U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency have agreed on a plan that will reduce emissions at a North Dakota power
plant and enable the G&T to add a third unit at the facility.
Under the agreement, the G&T, based in Grand Forks, North Dakota, will install additional emissions controls at its Milton R. Young lignite coal-based plant near Center, North Dakota.
"The settlement allows Minnkota and the State of North Dakota to jointly benefit," Minnkota President & CEO David Loer said. "Minnkota receives certainty that required future emission reductions will allow us to build Young 3, and the state of North Dakota reduces potential obstacles to lignite economic development in western North Dakota sooner than originally thought possible."
The new controls will reduce combined sulfur dioxide emissions from the two units by about 25,000 tons annually, Minnkota officials said. Loer estimated the cost of the improvements at about $135 million.
Nitrogen oxides will be reduced in two phases, officials said. The first phase should result in a combined reduction of 9,100 tons per year. In the second phase, additional reductions will be made in 2010 and 2011, after determining the best technology to achieve the task.
The agreement is the outgrowth of a 2002 action by the EPA concerning the plant's emission levels under the New Source Review program.
Minnkota owns and operates one unit at the plant, while the other is owned by Square Butte Electric Co-op (Square Butte) (ND-048), Grand Forks, North Dakota, and operated by Minnkota. Square Butte, a signatory to the settlement, is a subsidiary of Minnkota and deals only with the second unit.
Minnkota and Square Butte also will finance $5 million in renewable energy development projects.
Compliments of NRECA's "Electric Co-op TODAY", May 12, 2006 edition, Volume12, Number 18.
May 2006
Construction Underway on North Dakota Ethanol Plant - (Management team named to direct operations at 50 million gallon-a-year facility.) A state-of-the-art ethanol plant that eventually will produce 50 million gallons of ethanol annually is under construction in North Dakota.
Great River Energy (MN-110), a G&T located in Elk River, Minnesota, and Headwaters Inc. of South Jordan, Utah, held a groundbreaking ceremony March 17, 2006, on the $85 million facility near Underwood.
The Blue Flint Ethanol plant, which could begin operations in early 2007, will rely on waste steam from Great River Energy's nearby Coal Creek Station as energy to keep electricity costs low and reduce emissions. Officials said the steam will eliminate the need for a separate boiler and control construction costs.
"Our strong incentives for biodiesel and value-added agriculture and aggressive marketing of the state's energy potential are getting results, and we are working on more new projects," North Dakota Govenor John Hoeven said at the ceremony.
The plant, which derives its name from blue flint corn grown by Native Americans who once lived in the area, will require 18 million bushels of corn per year, much of it from area farms.
The plant also will produce enough dried or wet distillers grain to feed 225,000 cattle annually.
Officials estimated that construction will add 300 jobs to the local rolls and 37 full-time positions upon completion. The economic impact of the plant is expected to be about $160 million annually.
The companies also announced that John Baird of Headwaters Energy Services Corp. and John Weeda of Great River Energy will serve as a two-person executive committee that will govern activities for the joint venture.
Baird currently is vice president of liquid fuels for Headwaters Energy Services. Weeda is plant manager for Great River Energy at Coal Creek Station.
Headwaters Inc. also announced that Jeff Zueger has been named general manager of Blue Flint Ethanol.
Compliments of NRECA's "Electric Co-op TODAY", March 24, 2006, edition, Volume 12, Number 12.
April 2006
Basin
Electric Wind-hydrogen project moves forward: Thanks to two grants from
the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), and contributions from a consortium of
energy companies and research institutions in North Dakota, a research and economic
development program will be getting under way in the next couple of months.
In September 2004, the DOE awarded $497,050 to the consortium, led by Basin Electric Power Cooperative (Basin Electric) (ND-045), Bismarck, North Dakota, who has been assigned the grants. Last month another $500,000 was also added to undertake an innovative pilot program to produce, store and distribute hydrogen fuel.
At the February board meeting, Basin Electric's directors gave the go-ahead to sign contracts with DOE and members of the consortium to begin purchasing equipment and developing infrastructure to produce hydrogen using electricity from nearby wind turbines.
Ron Rebenitsch, Basin Electric manager of member marketing, said with the two DOE grants and in-kind contributions from the consortium members, almost $1.3 million is available for the project, which is planned to be located in Minot, ND.
The grants were made possible through the efforts of North Dakota U.S. Senator Byron Dorgan, who is a member of the Senate Energy and Water Appropriations Subcommittee. The consortium members include Basin Electric; Verendrye Electric Power Cooperative, Velva; the University of North Dakota Energy and Environmental Research Center (EERC), Grand Forks; and the North Dakota State University (NDSU) North Central Research Extension Center, Minot.
Rebenitsch said the project would use electricity from local wind generators at a regional hydrogen production site. The wind energy will be dynamically scheduled over the local electrical system from the wind turbines to the NDSU Experiment Station near Minot.
The wind energy would power an electrolyzer - a commercial generator that separates the hydrogen and oxygen contained in water. The hydrogen would then be stored and used either as a transportation fuel, a fuel to provide firm (non-intermittent) power that can be scheduled from fuel cells or small generators, or other applications.
The project consists of two parts. Rebenitsch said the initial phase, which began last September, analyzes the economics and environmental impacts associated with the production of hydrogen fuel using electricity from wind turbines. The second phase, scheduled to begin in a couple months, will include placement of the hydrogen electrolyzer in a location where electricity from Basin Electric's wind energy farms in North Dakota can be used. The hydrogen electrolyzer would be constructed at the NDSU North Central Research Extension Center with the support of Verendrye Electric, he said.
"The electrolyzer would be one of the nation's first production sources of hydrogen from a renewable resource," Rebenitsch said. "The hydrogen that's produced could be used as a fuel for both adapted internal combustion engines and fuel cell vehicles, as well as for electrical generation. The consortium is working with a number of entities to determine the best use of the hydrogen."
Negotiations have already begun with a supplier to install an electrolyzer and to construct the necessary facilities for using wind-generated electricity, Rebenitsch said. "We hope to have this demonstration project in operation in about 12 months."
Story by Daryl Hill, news media coordinator, Basin Electric.
March 2006
DMEA Brightens the Future for Local Grads: This fall fourteen local students
will attend college with the help of scholarships from Delta-Montrose Electric
Association (CO-020) (DMEA), Tri-State Generation & Transmission (CO-047) (Tri-State),
and Basin Electric Power Cooperative (ND-045) (Basin). DMEA scholarships
all came from the co-op's unclaimed capital credits fund, and six went to students
graduating from area high schools in Delta and Montrose counties.
They are: Delta High School's Anica Wong, daughter of Pam and Corey Wong; Montrose High grad Laura Trujillo, daughter of Sandy and Mike Trujillo; Olathe High School's Chase Branham, whose parents are Terri and Matt Branham; Paonia High grad Josh Thomas, son of Patty and Rick Thomas; Cedaredge High School grad Alyse Record, daughter of Gail and Clifford Record; and from Hotchkiss High, Andrew Nicewicz, whose parents are Karina and David Nicewicz. Two students from Non-Traditional/ Alternative Schools in Delta and Montrose Counties also received scholarships - they are, from Delta County, Valerie Madariaga, daughter of Janice and Kirk Madariaga of Paonia, and from Montrose County Laura Gesink, whose parents are Betty and Kerry Gesink. Kolten Tea, son of Holly and Doug Tea of Montrose, received the DMEA employee dependent scholarship.
This year, two new scholarships were added to DMEA's program and were provided to Mesa State Montrose Campus and Delta-Montrose Technical College, to be awarded according to their individual criteria.
Tri-State's two $500 scholarships went to Lindsey Daniels of Montrose, daughter of Sherralyn and Lory Daniels, and Hannah Williams, daughter of Brenda and Kevin Williams of Montrose. Basin Electric Power Cooperative provided a $1,000 scholarship, which went to Gloria See, daughter of Kathy and Randy See of Montrose.
"We have the great pleasure of representing our power suppliers, Tri-State and Basin, who very generously provide scholarships from their own programs that are specifically for students from DMEA co-op member families," said Board President Les Renfrow. "The scholarship program is an example of how cooperatives working together - DMEA, Tri-State, and Basin can make a real difference for our members and our communities."
March 2006
RECLAIMING A PRAIRIE: Where there once were coal pits and mine roads, there is now a healthy wildlife preserve, thanks to a reclamation effort led by David Nilson, reclamation administrator for Basin Cooperative Services, the not-for-profit subsidiary of Basin Electric Power Cooperative (ND-045) (G&T) in Bismarck, North Dakota.
In 1982, Basin purchased the Glenharold Mine from Consolidated Coal Company as a source of lignite coal for its Leland Olds power plant. Mining was completed in 1993 and reclamation-including topographic reconstruction, soil replacement and vegetation reestablishment-was completed in 2000.
Today, some 480 acres of the land comprise the Missouri Breaks Wildlife Management Area, the first of its kind in the state. Nilson, drawing on studies conducted by North Dakota State University ecologists and soil scientists, oversaw the successful planting of green ash, American elm, cottonwood and other native trees and shrubs. He also conducted research on planting native grasses. "We experimented with species composition, seeding rates, timing of planting and seeding techniques to determine what worked best," he says.
Nilson's team also created wetlands and planted food plots for wildlife. The final step in the reclamation process required collecting data for two years of a 10-year responsibility period to demonstrate that the new vegetation was equal to or better than what was there before.
The reclamation's success went far beyond what was once thought possible. Now whitetail and mule deer, pheasant, ducks, grouse, partridge, geese and songbirds abound. "We're very proud of our reclamation," says Nilson.
The state Public Service Commission recently honored Basin Cooperative Services for its efforts. In presenting the 2005 Award for Excellence in Surface Coal Mining and Reclamation, Commissioner Kevin Cramer said, "I am impressed with the fact that a piece of this important reclaimed prairie is set aside and available to the public for our outdoor recreation."
Reprinted with permission from the February issue of Rural Electric Magazine © National Rural Electric Cooperative Association 2006.
February 2006
AWFUL CONDITIONS: This is the season linemen tell stories about: splintered poles encased in ice; line trucks stuck in six-foot drifts; cable bucking so hard against the wind that crossarms break; fingers freezing. A winter 2005 blizzard blasted Minnesota and the Dakotas with up to 18 inches of snow and ice and plunged 37,000 far-flung co-op members into unheated darkness.
Thousands of poles went down; damages hit $10 million. Some called it the worst winter storm in a decade.
ELECTRIC CO-OP TODAY reporter George Stuteville talked to Mike Nisbet, communications supervisor at Minnkota Power Cooperative (ND-020) in Grand Forks, North Dakota, during the power restoration process. "This is dangerous work in awful conditions," Nisbet said. "The good thing is when things get this bad, it brings out the absolute best in our co-op people."
Reprinted with permission from the February issue of Rural Electric Magazine © National Rural Electric Cooperative Association 2006.
February 2006
A Positive Spin: Construction of the Wilton Wind Energy Center, which at 49.5 MW will be North Dakota's largest wind farm, will set 33 additional wind turbines spinning on the Upper Great Plains. The energy will benefit members of Basin Electric Power Co-op, (Basin) (ND-045), Bismarck, North Dakota, which will take the full output of the farm, to be constructed, owned and operated by FPL Energy, Juno Beach. Fla. At the September 19 groundbreaking, Basin CEO and General Manager Ron Harper attributed the G&T's ability to develop wind resources to its working relationship with FPL Energy. Wilton is the third joint wind effort by the two organizations, and will boost Basin's wind capacity to almost 135 MW. Harper cited the co-op's commitment to renewable energy, reporting that Basin's membership will consider a resolution at its 2005 annual meeting to set a goal of 10 percent voluntary renewable energy by 2010. If the resolution is adopted, he noted, Basin will be one of only a handful of utilities in the United States to have made such a commitment.
Compliments of NRECA's "Electric Co-op TODAY", September 30, 2005 edition, Volume 11.
October 2005