Tag Archives: Basin Electric Power Cooperative

Missouri Ag And Climate Change: Farmers Scramble To Find Solutions Like Cover Crops, No-Till Methods

By Michele Skalicky, KSMU/Ozarks Public Radio

Missouri Farmers are trying to work around more frequent floods and drought, which scientists say are the result of climate change. The Missouri Department of Agriculture said it doesn’t currently have anyone in the department looking at the impact of climate change on the state’s top industry, so many farmers are trying to figure out solutions on their own. Read more here.

USDA Photo: No-till farming.

NEBRASKA IN THE NEWS HERE

Four decades of no-till study proves nature knows best, Lincoln Journal Star
Energy assistance available for LES customers during pandemic, LES News Release
Plan provides power line protection for birds, OPPD The Wire
United Power sues Tri-State claiming ‘civil conspiracy’ to block Colorado jurisdiction over exit fees, Utility Dive. Tri-State Association members are located in four states: Colorado, Wyoming, New Mexico, and Nebraska.
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Acts To Suspend Pipeline Infrastructure Projects, Pipeline Technology Journal

NEWS FROM OTHER STATES

Utilities, gas industry coordinate to oppose Ohio village’s clean energy goal, by Kathiann M. Kowalski, Energy News Network
Minneapolis outpaces state in renewable electricity, Southwest Journal
Boise man traveling across the U.S. in solar-powered truck named Griff, Idaho News 6, KIVITV

DOE FUNDING ANNOUNCEMENT

Energy Department to Invest. More Than $5 Million in Tribal Energy Infrastructure Deployment Projects. Between 2010 and 2019, the DOE Office of Indian Energy invested nearly $85 million in more than 180 tribal energy projects implemented across the contiguous 48 states and Alaska. These projects, valued at over $180 million, are leveraged by over $95 million in recipient cost share. See the DOE’s Office of Indian Energy website for a map and summaries of these competitively funded projects.

Nebraska Energy Projects

Source: Tribal Energy Projects Database

SOLAR POWER WORLD VIDEO, ARTICLES & RELATED NEWS RELEASE

Geronimo Energy buys 415 MW of First Solar Series 6 modules for 2022 projects, Solar Power World
Nebraska referenced in this previously-posted Geronimo Energy news release: Geronimo Energy and Basin Electric Power Cooperative Announce Power Purchase Agreement for 128 MW South Dakota Solar Project
Solar Basics: What are bifacial solar modules?
Solar Basics is a video series by Solar Power World created to help installers learn about the business, tools and tricks of the solar power trade.
Pro tip: Never use soap to clean dirty solar panels

NPPD cutting ribbon on new community solar facility

Nebraska Public Power District News Release

Columbus, Neb. – The time has come to celebrate the launch of a new community solar farm with the official ribbon cutting for the Scottsbluff II project. The new addition to the Scottsbluff community’s renewable energy portfolio is set to go live on March 1, with the ceremony scheduled for 2 p.m. March 2. “We are very excited to cut the ribbon and celebrate the official launch of Scottsbluff II,” says Nebraska Public Power District (NPPD) Vice-President and Retail General Manager Tim Arlt. “The Scottsbluff II project is a great partnership between the city of Scottsbluff – NPPD and N-Solar and these combined efforts are what made this project a reality.” The ceremony is set to take place in the Landers Memorial Soccer Complex parking lot at 4205 5th Avenue just outside the new solar facility. Continue reading here.

OPPD News

Structure rebuild completed in time for potential flooding, The Wire

Additional Recommended Reading

With FERC tariff filing, Southwest Power Pool moves closer to Western imbalance market launch, Utility Dive. The Southwest Power Pool on Feb. 21 filed with federal regulators a tariff defining rates, terms and conditions for its Western Energy Imbalance Services (WEIS) market, setting up a launch less than one year away. It isn’t clear exactly how much money SPP’s imbalance market will save participating utilities, but officials say there will be savings generated from aligning generation and load more efficiently. Initial participants include Basin Electric Power Cooperative, Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association, the Western Area Power Administration (WAPA), Wyoming Municipal Power Agency and the Municipal Energy Agency of Nebraska.
Geronimo Energy and Basin Electric Power Cooperative Announce Power Purchase Agreement for 128 MW South Dakota Solar Project, Geronimo Energy News Release, CISION PR Newswire. Basin Electric is a consumer-owned, regional cooperative headquartered in Bismarck, North Dakota. It generates and transmits electricity to 141 member rural electric systems in nine states: Colorado, Iowa, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Wyoming.

Final pieces moving into place for Stegall transmission line project

By Scott Miller, KNOP News

NPPD says the 115,000 volt line from Stegall to Scottsbluff is complete, but it will likely be August before the system can be energized . . . The project, which also includes a short 345,000 volt line to the Basin Electric Power Cooperative’s existing Stegall substation, is expected to enhance system reliability in the Panhandle. Click here to read more.

SEE ALSO
NPPD: Stegall to Scottsbluff

Career Dedicated To A Cause

Prairie Business Magazine published an interview a while back with Basin Electric Power Cooperative’s CEO, Paul Sukut, that is still timely and of potential interest to everyone who enjoys reading about rural electric cooperatives and their role in community economic development, including investments in renewable energy projects. Basin Electric Power Cooperative’s nine-state service territory includes: Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota, Iowa, Nebraska, Wyoming, Colorado and New Mexico. Below, is an excerpt from the interview.

Q: WHAT ROLE DOES RENEWABLE ENERGY PLAY IN BASIN’S POWER SUPPLY, AND WHAT KINDS OF RENEWABLES DOES THE COOPERATIVE USE?

A: Basin Electric is a recognized leader of wind energy development in the Upper Midwest. Through joint projects and purchase power agreements, we have added approximately 719 megawatts (MW) of wind energy to our energy portfolio in the past decade and have invested more than $1 billion in renewable resources. By year-end 2016, Basin Electric will have more than 1,570 MW of green and wind-generation capacity. Several of Basin Electric’s members have asked about incorporating solar as a resource option. The cooperative is considering how to best incorporate both small and large solar into its generation fleet. Basin Electric will work with the membership as it develops a solar resource strategy. As of March 22, 2016, Basin Electric purchases the output from 335 small wind and solar projects owned by member-consumers throughout the cooperative’s service territory.

Read the entire interview here.

Photo: Basin Electric Power Cooperative CEO, Paul Sukut

Nebraskans for Solar

Solar: the energy of life