Basin Electric leaders join Mitsubishi for signing ceremony

Leaders from Basin Electric Power Cooperative joined Mitsubishi Power Americas executives on Aug. 21 to celebrate a key milestone in the cooperative’s largest power generation investment to date. Eight Basin Electric representatives traveled to Savannah Machinery Works in Pooler, Georgia, where Mitsubishi will manufacture two state-of-the-art gas turbines for the forthcoming Bison Generation Station in northwest North Dakota.

With a $4 billion investment and a planned capacity of 1,490 megawatts, the natural gas-fueled Bison Generation Station in Williams County will be the largest power plant in North Dakota and the centerpiece of Basin Electric’s generation portfolio. Construction is set to begin in 2026, with commercial operation targeted for 2030. The project marks Basin Electric’s most ambitious step yet toward delivering reliable, affordable electricity to its 139 member cooperatives.

As part of the visit, leaders from Basin Electric and Mitsubishi Power held a formal signing ceremony at the manufacturing facility, underscoring their partnership built on collaboration, mutual trust, and a shared commitment to delivering reliable power to the cooperative’s member-owners.

“Bison Gen will be the flagship generation of North Dakota and Basin’s fleet,” Basin Electric CEO Todd Brickhouse said. “It demonstrates our commitment to meeting the future needs of our membership.”

Chief Operating Officer Gavin McCollum emphasized the cooperative’s history of successful generation projects. “Basin has a long history of building generation,” he said. “It takes a lot of pieces coming together to make it a success, and external partners are a priority. We took great care to select Mitsubishi as a partner in this project.”

Mitsubishi Power Americas President and CEO Bill Newsom expressed pride in the collaboration. “We are honored to help Basin Electric deliver reliable power to its members. The Bison Generation Station reflects a time of dynamic growth and creates opportunities for trusted teams and partners to achieve shared success.”

The event concluded with a traditional Japanese Daruma ceremony, where leaders filled in one eye of a Daruma doll—a symbolic gesture representing their shared goal and commitment to seeing the project through to completion.