What have the individual utilities integrated resource plans shown?
Each of the five co-owners of the Big Stone II project has recently analyzed the growing demand for electricity among their customers and members, and developed forecasts of the resources required to serve those needs. Based on these forecasts, the co-owners have modeled and tested various resource alternatives, and have independently concluded that construction of Big Stone II and its associated transmission facilities, along with a combination of renewable energy, natural gas generation and energy conservation, is the best, least-cost plan for their customers and members. In addition to the 500-580-megawatt Big Stone II plant, the co-owners plans call for the addition of over 850-megawatts of wind plus 100 megawatts of other renewable energy by 2015.
