Let there be light – and more

Plant Superintendent Greg Opdahl leads a tour of Deer Creek Station.

• Deer Creek Station: 'Win, win, win, win'



ELKTON – A touch of pre-electrification South Dakota history was looked at Thursday morning, about 15 miles northeast of Brookings, with the dedication of the Deer Creek Station power plant.

Keynote speaker South Dakota Gov. Dennis Daugaard aimed some of his remarks at younger people in the SRO audience of more than 600 people.

The governor harked back to 1935, when rural South Dakota had light from "sunrise to sunset. There was no electricity." Daugaard went on to praise the coming of rural electric cooperatives in general and Basin Electric Power Cooperative in particular.

In looking where that commitment has come to from those early days of rural electrification, he called the $405-million Deer Creek Station, a 300-megawatt capacity power plant, a first for South Dakota and a first for Basin Electric. The governor called Deer Creek a "win, win, win, win."

Those four winners he cited were: reliable power for rural electric consumers; the plant's fit into Basin Electric's "mix of baseloads plants, peaking plants and wind generation"; the plant's energy efficiency through its use of combined-cycle technology; and the win for the state's economy, in bringing "hundreds of of millions of dollars of investment to our state."

Finally, Daugaard praised Basin for its "fantastic leadership. You give us commitment to community. You care about customers; you care about local communities."

Brookings County Commission Chairwoman Deanna Santema praised Gavin McCollam, the Deer Creek Station project manager, for his commitment to "be a good neighbor during the construction and after. He kept his word."

She noted that during the plant's construction there were about "350 workers making their homes in our communities. The workers and full-time employees have made a difference in our communities through monetary donations of thousands of dollars to many agencies."

That good-neighbor and caring-communities theme continued in the comments of Henning Hansen, a director for Sioux Valley who lives a few miles away from the plant. He said, "We like to have good neighbors, and Basin Electric has been a good neighbor." He noted that "concerns about noise, traffic, pollution and many other things" were considered by Basin Electric, which did its best "to alleviate any problems that may occur."

He added that the plant is "more than just lights. It's reliability."

Unable to attend the dedication, South Dakota's U.S. congressional delegation – Sen. Tim Johnson, Sen. John Thune, and Rep. Kristi Noem – sent representatives who read congratulatory letters.

The Deer Creek Station is a combined-cycle power plant fueled by natural gas and owned by Basin Electric Power Cooperative. Capable of generating 300 megawatts, the station could provide electricity for about 240,000 homes. The plant represents a $405-million investment and will employ about 25 to 30 full-time workers. It began commercial operations on Aug. 1.

Additional information about Basin Electric and the Deer Creek Station can be found at www.basinelectric.com.

Basin Electric Power Cooperative contributed to this report .



Contact John Kubal at jkubal@brookingsregister.com.