While construction of the plant remains contingent on approval of all necessary permits, the proposed timeline is as follows:
- October 2004 - Initial announcement
- Early 2005 through spring 2008 - Permitting and public comment
- January 16, 2008 - SD Supreme Court affirmed the SD PUC decision to grant a site permit
- Mid-2009 - Construction begins
- Mid-2013 - Plant commercially available
Background
By 2003, Otter Tail Power Company understood that it would have future needs for base load generation. Otter Tail also knew that other utilities in the area would have similar needs. Consequently, the company began to solicit interest in a possible baseload project from the utilities in the area.
In late 2003, a number of utilities expressed interest in evaluating the possibility of a baseload facility. They formed a Steering Committee and established a budget to begin a feasibility study of a second unit at the Big Stone I site, along with evaluating other options.
An engineering firm began this work in early 2004, and the group also began looking at transmission options. Throughout 2004, the group led technical studies, began work on project agreements and gathered additional interest in the project. The studies indicated that the best base load site would be a second unit at the Big Stone site, and that the best choice would be a coal-fired super critical boiler. The studies also revealed options for the transmission.
All of these efforts resulted in signed project agreements on June 30, 2005, by the five participating utilities, to develop the Big Stone Project.
