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A new
coal-burning plant that will more than double the electricity coming
out of the Big Stone Power Plant in extreme northeast South Dakota
also will decrease pollution, project officials said Thursday.
Construction of the Big Stone II plant near Milbank will
include a wet scrubber pollution control system that will be big
enough to clean emissions for both plants. The system will allow Big
Stone to meet or exceed federal and state emissions requirements,
said project manager Mark Rolfes.
"We will more than double
the electric output of the unit and not increase pollution, and in
some cases considerably decrease the amount of emissions from the
site," said Rolfes, with lead project developer Otter Tail Power
Company.
Sulfur dioxide emissions will be reduced by 10 to
15 percent, nitrogen oxide emissions would be about the same or
slightly less and mercury emissions will also be lessened, Rolfes
said.
The $1 billion project, a joint effort by seven
investor-owned utilities, rural electric cooperatives and municipal
electric systems, was announced in June.
Partnering with
Otter Tail are Missouri River Energy Services, Heartland Consumers
Power District, Central Minnesota Municipal Power Agency, Great
River Energy, Southern Minnesota Municipal Power Agency and
Montana-Dakota Utilities Co.
The project is the largest
private and public construction initiative ever launched in South
Dakota and will serve more than 2 million electric consumers in the
region.
The plant's construction will create more than 1,400
jobs and is scheduled to start in the spring of 2007. Once
operational four years later, the plant will add 35 to 40 permanent
jobs.
Gov. Mike Rounds applauded Thursday's announcement,
saying the project's sponsors are spending millions of dollars more
than required to control emissions.
"That means cleaner air
for many decades," Rounds said in a release. "They are doing what's
right for future generations."
Dusty Johnson, a South Dakota
Public Utilities Commission member, said it shows the utilities are
interested in being long-term corporate citizens and good neighbors.
"This makes me feel a lot better about the project because
now I know a little bit more about the people who are involved," he
said.
Rolfes also announced that high-voltage power lines
that will be built to carry power from Big Stone II will be able to
handle more electricity than the plant will produce.
One
line planned from Big Stone east to Canby and Granite Falls in
Minnesota will add 800 to 1,000 megawatts of capacity.
"The
most likely users of this generation would be wind and renewable
projects," Rolfes said.
That's great news for wind power in
South Dakota and the region, Johnson said, adding that companies
typically build only as much transmission as they need because it's
so expensive.
"But in this instance I think they're
recognizing the incredible potential we have in South Dakota for
wind power," he said.
Johnson said each megawatt of power
can serve 500 to 800 homes in the state.
"So you're talking
about thousands of people being able to get wind power or being able
to sell wind power to places like Minneapolis because of this line,"
he said.
Tom Heller, CEO of the Sioux Falls-based Missouri
River Energy Services, said studies have determined that the
four-year construction of Big Stone II will pump more than $788
million into South Dakota's economy. Once it's up and running, the
regional impact will be $3.6 million a year, Heller said.
By Dirk
Lammers,
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Source: Associated Press
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