Hughes Transmission Line complete
Hughes 230-kV transmission line in northeastern Wyoming is complete and operational and will strengthen reliability.
Dakota Gasification Company - December 9, 2009
Bismarck, N.D. – Basin Electric Power Cooperative announced today that it has completed construction of a $42-million, 230,000-volt (230-kV) transmission line project in northeast Wyoming. The approximately 136-mile line connects the Hughes substation, north of Rozet, to the Carr Draw substation, west of Gillette, and the Tongue River substation north of Sheridan. The line segments from the Hughes and Carr Draw substations meet at the Dry Fork Station under construction north of Gillette. These two segments were energized in August. The segment from the Dry Fork Station to the Tongue River substation was the last to be energized, completing the project.
According to Gary Christenson, project coordinator for Basin Electric, the last segment of the line was energized last week. “All aspects of the line and substations have been checked out; electricity is flowing across the wires,” he said.
The Hughes substation is owned by Powder River Energy Corporation (PRECorp), Sundance, Wyo.; and the Carr Draw substation is jointly owned by PRECorp, Basin Electric and PacifiCorp. PRECorp, a member system of Basin Electric, is a retail supplier of electricity to rural areas in the northeast corner of Wyoming. As part of this project, Christenson said the Tongue River substation was a new addition, while expansions of the existing Carr Draw, Hughes and Sheridan substations were required.
The Hughes Transmission Project received $34.5 million in financing from the Wyoming Infrastructure Authority (WIA). It was the first project financed by the WIA. The Wyoming Legislature created the WIA during the 2004 legislative session to expand power transmission capability to diversify the state economy.
“This line will strengthen the existing transmission system in the northeast part of Wyoming, resulting in increased reliability,” Christenson explained. “Demand for electricity continues to grow in this part of the state due to growth in rural areas and energy development in and around Gillette and Sheridan, and it’s putting a strain on the existing transmission system. This project is needed for Basin Electric to provide reliable, low-cost electricity.”
The route selection, permitting and right-of-way acquisition took more than 18 months to complete prior to construction beginning in the fall of 2008. Christensen said the route for the line crosses 68 different landowners, as well as land owned by the Bureau of Land Management and the State of Wyoming.
The Dry Fork Station is a coal-based power plant being built by Basin Electric north of Gillette. It will deliver electricity to the transmission grid via the Hughes Transmission line in 2011 when it’s scheduled for commercial operation.
Christenson said the line is a typical wood pole H-frame construction, with six steel dead-end structures required for specific areas. “Even though it’s operational, reclamation work will continue into next year,” he said.
About Basin Electric Power Cooperative
Basin Electric is a consumer-owned, regional cooperative headquartered in Bismarck, N.D. It generates and transmits electricity to 136 member rural electric systems in nine states: Colorado, Iowa, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Wyoming. These member systems distribute electricity to about 2.8 million consumers.
Basin Electric’s generating resources include: two coal-based power plants in North Dakota – the Antelope Valley Station, Beulah, and the Leland Olds Station, Stanton; a coal-based power plant in Wyoming – the Laramie River Station, Wheatland; three peaking stations – the Spirit Mound Station, Vermillion, S.D.; the Groton Generation Station Groton, S.D., and the Wisdom Unit 2 Station, Spencer, Iowa; nine combustion-turbine generators (natural gas) in the Gillette, Wyo., area; four wind turbines – two near Minot, N.D., and two near Chamberlain, S.D.; and 80 wind turbines near Minot, N.D. (2010). Basin Electric is also the sole purchaser of electricity from sources operated by others including: six baseload waste-heat stations owned and operated by Ormat Technologies Inc. along the Northern Border Pipeline; the output of three wind farms owned and operated by NextEra Energy Resources, Juno Beach, Fla. (These wind farms are located near Wilton and Edgeley/Kulm, N.D.; the other is near Highmore, S.D.)
Basin Electric has purchase power agreements of varying capacities from the Neal IV Station (coal-based), Sioux City, Iowa, operated by MidAmerican Energy; the Walter Scott Station (coal-based) units 3 and 4, Council Bluffs, Iowa, operated by MidAmerican Energy; the Wisdom Station (coal based), Spencer, Iowa, operated by Corn Belt Power Cooperative; peaking stations located in Spencer, Estherville, Pocahontas, and Webster City, Iowa; the Duane Arnold Energy Center (nuclear), Cedar Rapids, Iowa, operated by NextEra Energy Resources; the Municipal Energy Agency of Nebraska; and three Iowa wind farms – near Superior/Lakota, operated by Iowa Lakes Electric Cooperative; in Hancock County operated by NextEra Energy Resources and in Palo Alto County operated by Crosswind Energy, LLC.
Headquarters
1600 E. Interstate Ave.
PO Box 5540
Bismarck, ND 58506-5540 USA
701.221.4400
Great Plains Synfuels Plant
420 County Road 26
Beulah, ND 58523-9400 USA
701.873.2100
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