East River Electric 2020 Annual Report

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Adding Solar Power to OurGENERATION MIXEast River will soon be adding solarenergy to our generation mix thanksto a 128 megawatt (MW) solar energyproject that will be constructed near NewUnderwood, S.D., that is projected to beoperational by 2022.On Feb. 18, 2020, Geronimo Energy, a National Gridcompany, and Basin Electric Power Cooperativeannounced the execution of a power purchaseagreement for the Wild Springs Solar Project. Theannouncement was made during a press conferenceduring Co-op Day at the Capitol in the South DakotaState Capitol Rotunda in Pierre. The announcementreceived widespread coverage across nearly 70 local,regional and national media outlets including the20Wall Street Journal, MSN, and Yahoo Finance. Onceoperational, Wild Springs will be the largest solarproject in South Dakota. It will be located about 20miles east of Rapid City in the service area of WestRiver Electric Association, Inc., which is a distributionelectric cooperative member of Basin Electric.“For the first time in its history, Basin Electric will buysolar generation on a large scale to serve our members.The board’s decision to add solar generation to ourresource portfolio is to continue with our all-of-theabovestrategy, as well as solar generation becominga more economic energy source. We are excited aboutadding solar to our already diverse generation mix,”said Paul Sukut, CEO and general manager of BasinElectric Power Cooperative.
The Wild Springs project has been supported bylocal and state community members and will bringsignificant economic benefits to the local area.Current estimations for the project’s economicbenefits total over $17 million throughout the first20 years of operation, including positive impacts innew tax revenue, construction jobs, new full-timejobs, and charitable funds through the project’sEducation Fund. The Wild Springs Education Fundalone will offer approximately $500,000 in donationsto the local school districts connected to the projectabove and beyond all tax revenue and local spendingbenefits.“Historically, there has been a misconception that solarin the northern regions of the United States wasn’tfeasible,” said David Reamer, president for GeronimoEnergy. “Both Geronimo and Basin Electric recognizedthat the addition of solar to its overall generation fleetnot only offers customers a clean, economic optionfor their electricity, but it also diversifies a utility’sportfolio.”On June 15, 2020, Basin Electric announced itssecond solar energy project—the Cabin Creek SolarProject with Clēnera Renewable Energy. Whencomplete, Cabin Creek will consist of two, 75 MWprojects in southeastern Montana. The project willbe located within the service area of SoutheastElectric Cooperative. Cabin Creek is expected tobring significant economic benefits to the local area.According to Clēnera, the project will contribute $8million in property taxes and $5 million for the stateof Montana over 35 years. The company states it willcreate approximately 300 construction jobs and twoto three full-time jobs.“Our cooperative network is always looking to ensurewe have a mix of power resources to meet the needsof our membership and renewable energy is animportant part of that strategy,” said General ManagerTom Boyko. “These solar projects are importantstrategic steps as we look to the future in continuingour strong history of providing safe, affordable andreliable power.”A crowd of electric co-op employees and directors, mediarepresentatives and other interested parties gathered forthe press conference that was held at the State Capitol inPierre to announce the Wild Springs Solar Project.In 2019, nearly 38 percent of East River’s power supplymix came from wind and hydropower generation. Thatpercent is projected to increase as new renewablesources, including the Wild Springs and CabinCreek projects, are added to the mix. East River alsocontinued expanding our Renewable Energy Credit(REC) program in 2019, with 13 member systems nowoffering the program to their memberships and twomore looking at adding the program in the next year.Through the REC program, local member-owners canpurchase RECs to offset their current energy usagewith 100 percent renewable energy and showcasetheir support for current and future renewableprojects.21
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Page 12 and 13: STRATEGICPLANNING:Working Together
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East River Electric 2020 Annual Report

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