New Developments Added To Power Plant Proposal Will Build Needed Infrastructure For Renewable Energy
Milbank, SD - Officials from the Big Stone II project announced two significant additions to the project that will reduce emissions and build the infrastructure needed for new generation such as renewable energy.
Seven of the region's electric utilities propose building Big Stone II, a 600-megawatt power plant adjacent to the existing Big Stone Plant near Milbank, S.D. The new power plant will help serve the energy needs of approximately 2 million people in the region.
According to Big Stone II project manager Mark Rolfes, landowners and other stakeholders had raised two concerns about the project during public informational meetings. "They wanted to know how the project could accommodate more transmission capacity for wind or other renewable sources, and they wanted us to do more to improve the emissions from the entire Big Stone Plant site," he said.
In response to concerns about transmission capacity, the transmission line from Big Stone, SD, to Canby, MN, to Granite Falls, MN, is planned to be built for a voltage of 345 kv instead of the originally planned 230 kv if the project is approved. "The voltage upgrade will better meet future regional transmission planning needs. This will create an opportunity for approximately 800 to 1,000 megawatts of new transmission capacity that could be available for the development of additional wind and renewable energy sources, once the additional upgrades to the 345-kv system are completed," Rolfes said.
In response to concerns about plant emissions, the Big Stone II project wet scrubber will be sized to reduce the existing Big Stone Plant's emissions as well. "This change, as well as some operational changes at the existing Big Stone Plant, should make emissions from both plants equal to or less than the current plant's emissions for most pollutants," Rolfes said. "Doing this while more than doubling the generation capacity is a significant accomplishment."
The proposed upgrade to the planned transmission line and the scrubber to reduce emissions are both subject to various regulatory approvals.
Big Stone II project participants are Otter Tail Power Company, Central Minnesota Municipal Power Agency, Great River Energy, Heartland Consumers Power District, Missouri River Energy Services, Montana-Dakota Utilities Co., and Southern Minnesota Municipal Power Agency.
SOURCE: Big Stone II project