Basin Electric has signed a 15-year tolling agreement with Panamint Capital for the offtake of energy from a combined-cycle, natural gas-fired cogeneration facility located in Washington County, Minnesota.
The facility—called the Cottage Grove Cogeneration plant—is a 265-megawatt, dual-fuel, combined-cycle gas turbine plant and serves as a critical source of local capacity within the Midcontinent Independent System Operator (MISO) market.
Under the agreement, which begins in December 2027, Basin Electric will buy the natural gas used to operate the plant and will receive electricity generated to help meet the cooperative’s energy needs.
Benjamin Hertz, Basin Electric’s manager of Power Supply Planning, said as a dual-fuel dispatchable resource, the Cottage Grove Cogeneration facility is an important contributor to system reliability and resilience for the cooperative.
“As a generation and transmission cooperative serving members in the Upper Midwest, Basin Electric provides affordable and reliable power to those who live and work in often challenging environments with extreme weather conditions,” he said. “This facility will provide a much needed and reliable source of capacity and energy for Basin Electric’s membership moving forward, regardless of the weather conditions.”
Tony Shi, Panamint Capital’s vice president of Investments, said the company looks forward to the new opportunities the partnership creates. “We appreciate the tremendous trust Basin Electric has placed on the Panamint team,” he said. “We are excited to serve this long-term offtake with industry-leading standards.”
Panamint Capital CEO Apolka Totth added that the company looks forward “to a long, successful partnership with Basin Electric at the Cottage Grove site.”
