• News Center
• :
• About Us
• :
• Electricity
• :
• Projects
• :
• Gasification
• :
• Buy and Sell
• :
• Legislation
• :
• Environment

• Culbertson Station
• :
• Deer Creek Station
• :
• Dry Fork Station
• :
• LOS Emissions
• :
• ND Transmission
• :
• NextGen
• :
• Wind

NextGen

In February 2008, Basin Electric’s Board of Directors voted to select a Selby, SD, site as the “owner’s preferred” site. Selby is one of two South Dakota sites being evaluated in the federally mandated environmental review process currently under way. The Western Area Power Administration is the lead federal agency on the project and is developing an Environmental Impact Statement for the project.

Many factors affect the project, including uncertainty of the project’s economics, availability of carbon capture technologies and regulatory uncertainty on carbon emissions and renewable and energy efficiency standards. Until clarity is reached on these matters, Basin Electric believes it is prudent to reassess our current and future generation portfolios.

The outcomes of the legislative, regulatory and technology development processes will need to be weighed as to their impacts to Basin Electric and our membership. Those evaluation factors include:

• Climate change legislation - The U.S. Congress needs to establish reasonable and affordable climate change policies that create a higher level of certainty for energy development. In the absence of legislative direction, the U.S. EPA will establish regulations regarding greenhouse gas emissions.
• Renewable energy standards - The U.S. Congress needs to establish what levels may be required and how such a requirement would be attainable given competing federal interests.
• Energy efficiency standards - While there is some discussion of what constitutes a national energy efficiency standard, it is not clear how such standards would be accomplished or regulated.

Even though legislative, regulatory and technology development uncertainties exist, member cooperative loads continue to grow. As a result, Basin Electric still needs to continue to develop resources to meet its power supply obligations. Until these issues become clearer, Basin Electric's resource development strategy is being re-evaluated to mitigate risks associated with potential legislative and regulatory changes.

Top of page