Basin Electric Power Cooperative
Encyclopedia
Basin Electric Power Cooperative is a wholesale electric generation and transmission cooperative
based in North Dakota
that provides electricity to 2.8 million customers in nine U.S. state
s. The roots of the cooperative go back to 1960 when Leland Olds
and ten power suppliers created Giant Power Cooperative. Giant Power was first going to be a generation and transmission cooperative, but to keep electricity cheaper for rural customers, Basin Electric Power Cooperative was started in 1961. Today, Basin Electric's power sources include coal, natural gas, wind, waste heat, and nuclear. The current CEO and General Manager is Ronald R. Harper. A subsidiary of Basin Electric, Dakota Gasification Company, operates the Great Plains Synfuels Plant, which captures and sequesters nearly 50% of its carbon dioxide emissions in a system developed during the Carter administration. In 2005, the membership of Basin Electric passed a resolution requiring 10 percent of electricity demand to be provided from renewable forms of energy. At the end of 2009, Basin Electric finished construction on a 77 turbine wind energy
project.
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Utility cooperative
A utility cooperative is a type of cooperative that is tasked with the delivery of a public utility such as electricity, water or telecommunications to its members...
based in North Dakota
North Dakota
North Dakota is a state located in the Midwestern region of the United States of America, along the Canadian border. The state is bordered by Canada to the north, Minnesota to the east, South Dakota to the south and Montana to the west. North Dakota is the 19th-largest state by area in the U.S....
that provides electricity to 2.8 million customers in nine U.S. state
U.S. state
A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...
s. The roots of the cooperative go back to 1960 when Leland Olds
Leland Olds
Leland Olds was an American economist. Olds was interested in labor, development of public electric power, and ecology....
and ten power suppliers created Giant Power Cooperative. Giant Power was first going to be a generation and transmission cooperative, but to keep electricity cheaper for rural customers, Basin Electric Power Cooperative was started in 1961. Today, Basin Electric's power sources include coal, natural gas, wind, waste heat, and nuclear. The current CEO and General Manager is Ronald R. Harper. A subsidiary of Basin Electric, Dakota Gasification Company, operates the Great Plains Synfuels Plant, which captures and sequesters nearly 50% of its carbon dioxide emissions in a system developed during the Carter administration. In 2005, the membership of Basin Electric passed a resolution requiring 10 percent of electricity demand to be provided from renewable forms of energy. At the end of 2009, Basin Electric finished construction on a 77 turbine wind energy
Wind energy
Wind energy is the kinetic energy of air in motion; see also wind power.Total wind energy flowing through an imaginary area A during the time t is:E = ½ m v2 = ½ v 2...
project.
Direct purchasing
- Grand Electric Cooperative - Bison, South Dakota
- KEM Electric CooperativeKEM Electric CooperativeKEM Electric Cooperative is a public utility cooperative based in Linton, North Dakota, United States. It serves as the electric distribution utility in a portion of south central North Dakota. KEM Electric receives power from the Basin Electric Power Cooperative....
- Linton, North Dakota - Minnesota Valley Cooperative Light & Power Association - Montevideo, Minnesota
- Minnesota Valley Electric Cooperative - Jordan, Minnesota
- Mor-Gran-Sou Electric CooperativeMor-Gran-Sou Electric CooperativeMor-Gran-Sou Electric Cooperative, Inc. is a public utility cooperative based in Flasher, North Dakota. It serves as one of the electric distribution utilities in south central North Dakota, primarily serving Morton, Grant and Sioux Counties. Mandan is the largest city in its service area....
- Flasher, North Dakota - Powder River Energy Corporation - Sundance, Wyoming
- Roughrider Electric Cooperative - Hazen, North Dakota
- Rosebud Electric Cooperative - Gregory, South Dakota
- Wright-Hennepin Cooperative Electric AssociationWright-Hennepin Cooperative Electric AssociationWright-Hennepin Cooperative Electric Association is a non-profit, member-owned energy and service cooperative located in Rockford, Minnesota...
- Rockford, Minnesota
G&T
- Central Power Electric CooperativeCentral Power Electric CooperativeCentral Power Electric Cooperative is a North Dakota-based electrical generation and transmission cooperative based in Minot, North Dakota and was founded in 1949. Central Power purchases power from Basin Electric Power Cooperative to serve its six member rural electric cooperatives. It also...
- Minot, North Dakota - Central Montana Electric Power Cooperative - Great Falls, Montana
- Corn Belt Power CooperativeCorn Belt Power CooperativeCorn Belt Power Cooperative is a generation and transmission electric cooperative in northern Iowa. It currently supplies to 12 of its member cooperatives in 28 counties in northern Iowa. It owns and maintains a coal-fired plant and a gas combustion turbine generator and is one of the owners of the...
- Humboldt, Iowa - East River Electric Power Cooperative - Madison, South Dakota
- L & O Power Cooperative - Rock Rapids, Iowa
- Northwest Iowa Power Cooperative - LeMars, Iowa
- Rushmore Electric Power Cooperative - Rapid City, South Dakota
- Upper Missouri G&T Electric Cooperative - Sidney, Montana
- Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association - Denver, Colorado
Class D Members
- Flathead Electric Cooperative - Kalispell & Libby, Montana
- Wyoming Municipal Power Agency - Lusk, Wyoming
States served by Basin Electric
- ColoradoColoradoColorado is a U.S. state that encompasses much of the Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains...
- IowaIowaIowa is a state located in the Midwestern United States, an area often referred to as the "American Heartland". It derives its name from the Ioway people, one of the many American Indian tribes that occupied the state at the time of European exploration. Iowa was a part of the French colony of New...
- MinnesotaMinnesotaMinnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...
- MontanaMontanaMontana is a state in the Western United States. The western third of Montana contains numerous mountain ranges. Smaller, "island ranges" are found in the central third of the state, for a total of 77 named ranges of the Rocky Mountains. This geographical fact is reflected in the state's name,...
- NebraskaNebraskaNebraska is a state on the Great Plains of the Midwestern United States. The state's capital is Lincoln and its largest city is Omaha, on the Missouri River....
- New MexicoNew MexicoNew Mexico is a state located in the southwest and western regions of the United States. New Mexico is also usually considered one of the Mountain States. With a population density of 16 per square mile, New Mexico is the sixth-most sparsely inhabited U.S...
- North DakotaNorth DakotaNorth Dakota is a state located in the Midwestern region of the United States of America, along the Canadian border. The state is bordered by Canada to the north, Minnesota to the east, South Dakota to the south and Montana to the west. North Dakota is the 19th-largest state by area in the U.S....
- South DakotaSouth DakotaSouth Dakota is a state located in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is named after the Lakota and Dakota Sioux American Indian tribes. Once a part of Dakota Territory, South Dakota became a state on November 2, 1889. The state has an area of and an estimated population of just over...
- WyomingWyomingWyoming is a state in the mountain region of the Western United States. The western two thirds of the state is covered mostly with the mountain ranges and rangelands in the foothills of the Eastern Rocky Mountains, while the eastern third of the state is high elevation prairie known as the High...
Subsidiary companies
- Basin Telecommunications Inc.
- Basin Cooperative Services
- Dakota Gasification CompanyDakota Gasification CompanyThe Dakota Gasification Company started in 1984 in Beulah, North Dakota with the Great Plains Synfuels Plant. The plant uses lignite coal to make synthetic natural gas using coal gasification. 16 thousand tons of coal are processed daily. The synthetic natural gas is piped to the Northern Border...
- Dakota Coal CompanyDakota Coal CompanyThe Dakota Coal Company is the company the controls the lignite reserve rights in the state of North Dakota, and finances the Freedom Mine in Beulah, North Dakota. Dakota Coal Company provides services to Basin Electric’s Antelope Valley Station, Leland Olds Station, and Dakota Gasification...
- Montana Limestone Company
- Prairie Winds ND 1, Inc.
- Prairie Winds SD 1, Inc.
- Souris Valley Pipeline Ltd.
Board of directors
| District | Name | Position | Cooperative | Director since |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | Cliff Gjellstad | President | Central Power Electric Central Power Electric Cooperative Central Power Electric Cooperative is a North Dakota-based electrical generation and transmission cooperative based in Minot, North Dakota and was founded in 1949. Central Power purchases power from Basin Electric Power Cooperative to serve its six member rural electric cooperatives. It also... |
2000 |
| 7 | Roy Ireland | Vice President | Rushmore Electric | 1996 |
| 1 | Kermit Pearson | Secretary/Treasury | East River Electric | 1997 |
| 2 | Gary Drost | Assistant Secretary | L & O Power | 1999 |
| 4 | Don Applegate | Director | Northwest Iowa Power | 1997 |
| 5 | Wayne Child | Director | Tri-State G&T | 1985 |
| 6 | Roberta Rohrer | Director | Central Montana Electric | 2004 |
| 8 | Dean McCabe | Director | Upper Missouri G&T | 2000 |
| 9 | Wayne Peltier | Director | Direct purchasing cooperatives | 2008 |
| 10 | Reuben Ritthaler | Director | Power River Energy Corporation | 2001 |
| 11 | Charlie Gilbert | Director | Corn Belt Power Corn Belt Power Cooperative Corn Belt Power Cooperative is a generation and transmission electric cooperative in northern Iowa. It currently supplies to 12 of its member cooperatives in 28 counties in northern Iowa. It owns and maintains a coal-fired plant and a gas combustion turbine generator and is one of the owners of the... |
2009 |
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