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Environment

Cleaner, greener energy for us all

Environmental advocacy is shaping the way people think about energy. It is also shaping the regulatory environment for fossil fuels-based energy providers, which includes Basin Electric and many rural electric generation and transmission cooperatives in America. At a time when coal-based generators are under scrutiny about their compliance with regulatory standards for emissions and pollution control, it is noteworthy that Basin Electric became concerned about the environmental impact of coal generation and clean energy many years ago - and we remain so today.

Decades ago, Basin Electric took a proactive approach to protecting the quality and diversity of our environment (see the 1977 quote from Senator Burdick quote in right column).

Our facilities are 100 percent environmentally compliant.  We currently have 395 megawatts (MW) of renewable energy in our generation portfolio. Two Basin Electric subsidiaries were recently created to develop wind generation in the Dakotas. Committed wind projects in the Dakotas total 250.5 MW.

Coal continues to produce half the electricity used in the United States. Coal is domestic, abundant, and relatively inexpensive, so Basin Electric is partnering with others to explore new technologies that will allow us to use coal more cleanly and efficiently. Our subsidiary, Dakota Gasification Company, is already capturing carbon dioxide emissions at the Great Plains Synfuels Plant, a coal gasification facility, but Basin Electric is also developing a carbon capture pilot project at one of our coal-based power plants.

What it takes

• Basin Electric has invested more than $825 million  to operate its power plants in an environmentally sound manner.
• More than $79 million is required annually to operate environmental protection equipment.
• Each of Basin Electric's coal-based generating plants has an environmental coordinator who is responsible for environmental compliance and maintaining the plant's continuous emissions monitoring (CEM) system.
• The CEM measures emissions of sulfur dioxide, carbon dioxide, opacity (clarity), nitrogen oxide and flow. These readings are sent to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) quarterly for compliance review.
• Basin Electric and all subsidiary facilities are 100 percent environmentally compliant

Diversifying

Basin Electric is diversifying our power supply to include wind, natural gas and recovered energy generation. Some of these projects are:

• Basin Electric is currently permitting a combined cycle power plant near White, SD. At 300 megawatts, it’ll be operational in 2012.
• PrairieWinds SD 1, a Basin Electric subsidiary, plans to build a 150-megawatt project in central South Dakota, projected to be operational by 2011.
• We’re increasing conservation and efficiency measures at our facilities:

• Hybrid and flex fuel vehicles are being incorporated into the cooperative’s motor pool.
• Basin Electric Headquarters has implemented several energy saving measures including installing more efficient heating and cooling systems, motors, and lighting.
• We’re recycling aluminum, plastic and paper, and have eliminated Styrofoam cups from Headquarters.

Learn more about Basin Electric's response to climate change legislation and how it will impact our energy businesses and the cost of energy for our consumers. Fact-based presentations and information sheets are available

What kind of energy future can you expect from Basin Electric?

• Expect a G&T cooperative committed to its members, their customers and the communities they serve. That means we are charged with putting forth our best efforts toward employing clean coal technologies and best practices in our operations and delivery systems.
• Expect us to seek out renewable energy resources for power generation to support rural America and the regional economy. That means we will practice load management, conservation, reclamation, and encourage renewable energy and other “green” practices in our service territories.
• Expect us to keep building on humankind's greatest achievement in the past century – responding to consumer demand for power. That means we will uphold the seven cooperative principles and business model as the best foundation for energy development now and in the future.

Protecting the environment

The founders of Basin Electric embraced a philosophy about environmental protection that can be summed up like this:

"… Always have… always will."

Basin Electric, as a regional power supplier, is part of an environmental effort that began in the late 1950s. At that time wholesale electric power came from federal hydroelectric plants along river systems. Hydroelectric energy was and is clean and renewable.

The problem then and now is there isn't enough of it. So distribution cooperatives pooled their power requirements to benefit from the efficiency gained from large-scale electric production. Together, they organized Basin Electric Power Cooperative and built low-sulfur, coal-based plants in Wyoming and North Dakota. Our tradition has been to reclaim mined land, reduce emissions and particulates, control odor and minimize environmental impacts to water, soil and air.

We combine coal-based and other generation with power from hydroelectric generators to provide our consumers with electricity. Basin Electric's mix of coal, hydro, distributed and renewable power is some of the most reliable, clean energy produced in America today.

Environmental protection is a Basin Electric core value. Simply put: our facilities run 24 hours, 7 days a week in the communities where we live, breath, work, raise our families and enjoy the great outdoors. We produce power where we live, and we are committed to living in rural America – a vital rural America with sustainable economies fueled by low-cost, regional power.

As both owners and consumers of primarily coal-based energy, Basin Electric directors, staff and members have a stake in ensuring that our water, air, and lands are kept pristine for our children and future generations, while supporting rural America’s economies and communities.

We support the spirit of environmental protection laws.

• We support sustainable initiatives that protect the environment and benefit our communities and economies.
• We support development of clean coal technologies and we are actively engaged in promoting this research.
• We practice environmental stewardship by managing our operations in full compliance with regulatory requirements.

Always have, always will.