The 99-MW capacity Day County Wind Farm will feature 66, 1.5-MW wind turbines; almost identical to the ones operating near Highmore, South Dakota. Construction will begin as soon as all permits and approvals are received. It’s anticipated the project will be ready for commercial operation by mid 2010.
For the first three years of commercial operation, Basin Electric has agreed to sell the output of the Day County project to the Western Area Power Administration, a Federal Power Marketing Administration.
“The reservoir levels on the Missouri River are improving, however Western continues to expect less than normal generation for the next few years,” said Tim Meeks, Western’s Administrator. “This short-term purchase from Basin Electric fits our strategic goals for purchasing replacement power, and we are excited that this purchase is from a renewable resource. Western recognizes how valuable customer partnerships are as we seek to provide our customers with reliable, cost-based power and energy. This agreement is just one of many successful partnerships Western has with Basin Electric.”
Another important element of this project was the construction of necessary transmission to facilitate the generation’s delivery. East River is providing the transmission facilities for the Day County project. “As part of the cooperative delivery system, we look forward to adding new sources of renewable energy to our portfolio. Just as we provided transmission delivery for the Hyde County Wind Farm (near Highmore), East River will construct the necessary facilities to deliver power from this wind project,” East River Electric General Manager Jeff Nelson said.
The cooperative family already has a presence near Groton. Basin Electric has developed a two-unit peaking station just south of Groton. Those units were placed in commercial operation in 2006 and 2008, respectively. The Groton Generation Station not only provides peaking capacity but also transmission stability for Western’s transmission lines in that part of South Dakota.
“The wind project near Groton will connect into East River’s existing transmission system,” Harper said. “As the original power supplier to electric cooperatives in the region, Western built and maintains the backbone transmission grid to deliver electric power. As those cooperatives grew, Basin Electric and East River were formed to supplement that system, blending the hydro and thermal power for long-term power supply.”
