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Green Energy

Green energy is generated by forces of nature or gas from bioproducts combustion, so it is often termed "renewable" energy. It's renewable because the power is fueled primarily by non-fossil fuels like wind power, hydro power, waste heat, biomatter and solar power - all resources that have little or near-zero emissions. Thermal combustion plays a reduced role.

Questions about renewable energy abound: for example, how much will intermittent "green" power cost? Can it replace efficient and reliable baseload power? Basin Electric has some answers.

The key is balance

Basin Electric is forging ahead with exploration of new, innovative technologies for keeping our energy fleet running cleanly and efficiently. Many rural Americans would like our nation to become less dependent on foreign oil resources. Developing renewable energy at home is one way to make a difference.

Basin Electric and its members are increasingly interested in alternative forms of renewable energy, and we are working together to explore options for generating the cleanest, most affordable electricity possible. Basin Electric believes conservation and sustainability of natural resources depends on supplying affordable, clean energy to as many people and industries as possible, and exploring new technologies for improving how energy is produced.

The key is balance. Basin Electric has purchased a total of 878 MW of electric generation capacity, including 376 total MW of non-fossil fuels based generation of which 331.6 MW is from wind, 44 MW from waste heat (known as recovered energy generation - REG) energy, and 375 kilowatts (kW) from a bio-gas facility in South Dakota. Creating our energy future will entail a mix of both carbon-based and renewable energy resources.

Taking action, moving forward

Basin Electric and its membership support a clean environment and recognizes the need to use energy more efficiently to hold down the cost of producing additional energy and to conserve our natural resources.

• All Basin Electric and subsidiary facilities are 100 percent environmentally compliant.
• Basin Electric advocated responsible reclamation practices at the Glenharold Mine, which fed the Leland Olds Station, starting in the 1960s - long before it was required by law. That commitment continues through the Freedom Mine and its award-winning reclamation practices. The mine, operated by The Coteau Properties Company, supplies lignite to Basin Electric's North Dakota facilities.
• The Laramie River Station near Wheatland, WY, and the Antelope Valley Station near Beulah, ND, are zero discharge facilities. Water can only leave the facilities through evaporation.
• Basin Electric is capturing carbon dioxide emissions. Since 2000, Basin Electric's major subsidiary, Dakota Gasification Company, has captured and delivered more than 16 million tons (through 2008) of carbon dioxide from its Great Plains Synfuels Plant through a 205-mile pipeline to oilfields in Saskatchewan, Canada, for enhanced oil recovery.
• Basin Electric is developing more renewable energy. Basin Electric is the primary sponsor of a wind-to-hydrogen project near Minot, ND. It investigates using wind generated electricity to power a commercial hydrogen generator that separates the hydrogen and oxygen contained in water. The hydrogen is then stored and used as transportation fuel.
• Basin Electric has updated the Energy Conservation & Efficiency Fund Program for its member cooperatives. The program establishes a funding mechanism for projects and programs at the local level that save energy or promote conservation and efficiency practices, and assist members in meeting energy efficiency mandates. The program is funded at $1 million.
  Basin Electric provides a discount to member cooperatives that buy compact fluorescent lights (CFLs) in bulk to market to their member consumers. CFLs are four to five times the efficiency of incandescent lamps and have a life up to 13 times longer.
• Basin Electric and its members are engaged in a variety of conservation and energy efficient programs that promote, support and market dual heat, water heaters, heat pumps, air conditioning, storage heating, grain drying, irrigation, photovoltaics, and numerous other programs.
• Basin Electric member cooperatives have taken the initiative to look for new ways to capture and use energy. Examples include: Sioux Valley Energy's Project E2, which included the construction of an energy efficient house, and Flathead Electric Cooperative's plan to collect methane from the Flathead County, MT, landfill to power a generator creating 1.6 megawatts of electricity.
• To help save energy, Basin Electric member cooperatives provide energy audits for homes and businesses that range from a simple walk-through that can be implemented by the owner to more elaborate services performed by trained professionals.
• Since 1994, Basin Electric has been promoting innovative electric technologies. The program lets you see and feel first hand how innovative electrical products work.
• Basin Electric also owns a plug-in hybrid vehicle. The 2007 plug-in Ford Escape hybrid with a rechargeable battery can get up to 60 miles per gallon. During the first 30 miles, the vehicle runs on electricity. After that, there is an unlimited range in the gas/electric hybrid mode.
• Basin Electric has implemented several energy saving measures from improving the efficiency of the heating and cooling system to more efficient lighting. This has translated to savings around 135,000 kilowatt-hours a month - or more than 1.6 million kilowatts per year. That is enough to power 150 homes on an annual basis. (At 8 cents per kilowatt hour, that's almost $11,000 per month savings.)
• Headquarters is efficient: At night, all lights - with the exception of one floor - are now turned off. This saves 60,000 kilowatt-hours a year. The HVAC (heating, ventilation and air conditioning) controls system has been replaced with a more efficient system, and the windows have been re-caulked. Bathroom lights, faucets and flushing devices are now operated by auto sensors. Between 50 and 60 percent of light fixtures have been replaced with either lower wattage bulbs or more efficient ballasts. Humidifiers are now programmed to operate only eight hours daily and only during winter months. VFD (Variable Frequency Drive) motors have been installed allowing motor speed to fluctuate based on load. Warm water created from the air conditioning process is used to heat the building during the spring/fall time frame versus using the hot water boiler. Styrofoam cups are no longer used in the cafeteria; employees and guests are provided ceramic mugs. Recycle bins for paper, plastic and aluminum cans are located on every floor. One-third of Basin Electric's headquarters vehicle fleet is hybrid. Paper paychecks have been eliminated; all paychecks are deposited electronically.

Green tag sales

Basin Electric's renewable generating resources are producing more than just electricity. They're also producing Tradable Renewable Credits or "green tags." Sales of green tags recently surpassed 2,700,000 megawatt-hours (MWh) as of 2010.* A green tag represents the environmental attribute associated with producing one MWh of electricity from an electric generating source such as wind, small hydro, solar or biomass. Basin Electric's green tags are generated primarily from wind farms either owned by Basin Electric or by purchasing energy from other wind resources The sale of green tags began in 2001, just prior to four of Basin Electric wind turbines being placed in operation. Green tags are purchased by Basin Electric's member systems and other entities including the Minot Air Force Base (ND) and the Ellsworth Air Force Base, Rapid City, SD.

*To assist in the economics of the renewable generation, the renewable energy credits (also known as green tags) are used to meet member purchases, regulatory needs or sold to third parties.

Green 'recovered' energy

Basin Electric has a contract to purchase 44 megawatts of renewable or "green" generating base-load capacity from eight generating stations owned by Ormat Technologies Inc., and fueled by waste heat recovered from the exhaust of gas turbines at existing compressor stations located along the Northern Border Pipeline in North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota and Montana.

Environmentally benign, these units have near-zero emissions and minimal impact on the environment. The energy from these units is enough to serve the electrical needs of about 15,000 average residential homes. Basin Electric is selling green tags associated with this project.

Members serve ethanol loads

Fourteen ethanol plants presently served by the member cooperatives produce nearly 600 million gallons of ethanol and require 60 MW of power. That represents 15 percent of the total ethanol production in the United States from those plants. If proposed ethanol facilities are built, they will more than double the ethanol production and the amount of power required. Less foreign oil and more ethanol creates a more secure energy future for America.

Wind-to-hydrogen

Basin Electric has contracted with Hydrogenics Corp. to supply an electrolyzer-based hydrogen refueling station for installation in Minot, ND. In addition to the core electrolyzer module, Hydrogenics also supplied compression, storage and dispenser equipment. The station is one of the first United States-based hydrogen fueling stations to use electricity from a wind power resource to produce hydrogen from water, in this case using electricity generated by wind resources either owned or contracted by Basin Electric.

The hydrogen produced is used to refuel hydrogen-powered vehicles, demonstrating a linkage between wind power and vehicle refueling. The project demonstrates the ability and practicality of making and using hydrogen energy with zero carbon emissions, using excess wind power that might otherwise be under utilized. This capability can potentially lead to significantly enhanced overall efficiencies of existing and future wind power installations.

The installation of the electrolyzer fueling station at North Dakota State University's North Central Research Extension Center is an integral component of a Department of Energy-sponsored wind-hydrogen project announced by U.S. Sen. Byron Dorgan's office in September 2004.

Hybrid vehicle project

Showing a commitment to new technologies, conservation and the environment, Basin Electric and other cooperatives within the Renewable Distributed Energy Group (RDEG) have proposed a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) project, which would use cooperative-generated power to "fuel" co-op vehicles. The RDEG is part of the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA) Cooperative Research Network (CRN).

As part of the project, four conventional hybrid vehicles will be converted to "plug-in" hybrids. The vehicles will be operated and maintained by Basin Electric and three other co-ops from around the country: Salem Electric Cooperative in Oregon, Jackson Electric Membership Cooperative in Georgia and Platte-Clay Electric Cooperative in Missouri.

Each co-op participating in the project will convert a gas/electric hybrid vehicle to a PHEV. Each participant will be responsible for maintaining detailed records of the use and energy requirements of the vehicles, said Rob Rebenitsch, Basin Electric manager of member marketing. Basin Electric will use its plug-in hybrid within the co-ops current vehicle fleet.

PCOR carbon sequestration partnership

Basin Electric participates in the Plains CO2 Reduction Partnership (PCOR), a DOE regional carbon sequestration partnership developed to better understand the technical and economic feasibility of sequestering CO2 emissions from stationary sources in the central interior of North America.

Canadian Clean Power Coalition

Basin Electric is a member of the Canadian Clean Power Coalition (CCPC). Initiated in 2003, the CCPC Project is comprised of seven founding Canadian companies that operated 90 percent of Canada's coal-based generation capacity, and several Canadian and American partners. Their multi-stage objectives are to demonstrate the future of clean coal technology, and emissions and retrofit technology, including construction of a "Greenfield" plant by 2010-2012, and testing of advanced Integrated Gasification Combined Cycle (IGCC) systems for gasifying coal. Basin Electric is actively involved in the testing of low-rank fuels such as lignite, which is burned in its North Dakota facilities.