Partners in Big Stone II plan smaller version
Published Thursday, September 20, 2007
A smaller version of the proposed Big Stone II coal-fired power plant in northeastern South Dakota is being planned after two partners announced plans to back out. Plans now call for a possible generating capacity of about 500 megawatts instead of the 630 megawatts originally proposed.
Otter Tail Power Company is one of the five remaining partners in Big Stone II.
Company Senior Vice President Ward Uggerud said that if a 500-megawatt plant were built, electricity likely would cost five percent more to generate than a 630-megawatt plant, based on preliminary estimates.
“The impact is relatively small,” Uggerud said.
Two Big Stone II partners, Great River Energy and Southern Minnesota Municipal Power Agency, are withdrawing as owners in the $1.6 billion project which would serve electricity consumers in Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota and two other states.
Great River, based in Elk River, cited a variety of factors for its decision to leave the Big Stone II project which already has several permits. Included are Great River Energy’s changing demand and other resources they’re developing and purchasing. Southern Minnesota Municipal Power Agency representatives said that they are unable to make a long-term commitment for Big Stone II baseload resources. Nevertheless, SMMPA and Big Stone II representatives are evaluating options that would allow SMMPA to remain as a participant in some capacity, though not as a direct owner.
Uggerud said that Otter Tail Power Company — the lead Big Stone II utility — believes project costs are manageable. Most of the remaining permits, he said, will be unaffected by the plant’s reduced size.
The five project co-owners, in addition to Otter Tail Power Company, are Central Minnesota Municipal Power Agency, Heartland Consumers Power District, Missouri River Energy Services and Montana-Dakota Utilities Co.
Some of Great River Energy’s reduced demand, Uggerud said, is because customers will receive more electricity from Bismarck-based Basin Electric Power Cooperative which relies heavily on coal-fired electricity.
The Big Stone II project agreement establishes restatement-of-participation dates at which all participants must affirm their continuing commitment. With the next such date being Friday, Sept. 21, Great River Energy’s members elected to discontinue participation in the project.
If all goes according to plan, Big Stone II would come on line in 2012 in northeastern South Dakota, adjacent to the 450-megawatt Big Stone I which came on line in 1975.
Uggerud reiterated that BIg Stone II will be a highly efficient, environmentally responsible, coal-fired plant. The transmission project will include upgrades and new construction of power lines, substations, and other infrastructure.
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