Basin Electric Power Cooperative hopes to include two new power plants in its summer construction schedule, and is also planning 200 miles of new transmission lines, to help meet demand in communities facing significant growth from oil production.
The 45-megawatt, natural-gas-fueled plants will be used to provide electricity to western and northwestern North Dakota, which have seen increased demand as a result of oil production in the Bakken Formation, said Daryl Hill, media relations supervisor at Bismarck, N.D.-based Basin Electric.
