Dakota Gas products created. There will be changes, however. One of which is not solely related to RTO membership, but one of the group’s functions will be to manage Basin Electric within the RTO environment. Basin Electric’s Marketing & Asset Management Department was created to better manage the cooperative’s assets. Though Basin Electric and Western’s partnership goes back to the beginning of Basin Electric, the environment surrounding their shared IS system has become more and more constrained from the market and the cooperative’s obligations and generation assets are of such a size that it must be managed hour by hour. Rather than have the cooperative’s assets managed by Western, Western has been supportive of Basin Electric taking over managing it all from within the cooperative. The first step in this is the implementation of Basin Electric’s real time trading desk for west side operations, which will begin in February 2014. With a central office able to manage its fuel and power commodities, the changes in the prices of each commodity can actually be used to bring new value to the cooperative. The Marketing & Asset Management group provides another level of independence Basin Electric has not fully utilized before. It’s an opportunity to recognize more clearly the cooperative’s strengths and to prepare for the realities of the future.
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Beyond natural gas, the gasification process yields valuable products, which Dakota Gas markets. Following are the 2013 production of each commodity and examples of end use.
Natural gas
Ammonium sulfate
Anhydrous ammonia
36.7
83,432
233,649 tons
fuel
DakSul® fertilizer
million dekatherms
tons
agricultural fertilizer
Carbon dioxide
47.3
billion standard cubic feet (salable)
enhanced oil recovery
Supporting the cooperative
B
asin Electric’s subsidiaries have been formed throughout its existence with a primary mission: support the cooperative and its members. Each is vital to the cooperative’s success.
Dakota Gasification Company
B
asin Electric’s largest subsidiary, Dakota Gasification Company, which owns and operates the Great Plains Synfuels Plant, had a year of transition, activity and milestones. In recent years, the board and management have brought renewed focus to the viability and profitability of the plant. Two initiatives that have served Dakota Gas well are the $5-a-dekatherm program, which is a mission to keep synthetic natural gas production costs at no more than $5 a dekatherm; and the Responsible Care® certification, which ensures safety and environmental stewardship at the facility. The activity at the Synfuels Plant was at its highest in the spring. For only the second time in its history, the plant went black, meaning everything was shut down. Five major projects and about 7,000 individual tasks were completed, including the tie-in of the clean cooling water system, which was the primary reason for the black plant because all systems are tied to the unit. In February, the tar oil stripper unit started up. With this addition, the rail load out was expanded to allow more shipments more quickly. The
22 | 2013 ANNUAL REPORT
expansion has provided four additional load stations increasing the product shipment from three cars a day to 12 cars a day. The addition of tar oil brought the total product count at the Synfuels Plant to 10, which includes natural gas. However, that number will increase yet again. Throughout the year, the board of directors and membership spent considerable time discussing potential additions to the plant – urea and diesel emission fluid (DEF). Urea is produced using anhydrous ammonia and carbon dioxide. It’s used as a solid nitrogen fertilizer and costs less to handle, store and transport than other nitrogen-based fertilizers. DEF is used to reduce NOX emissions in diesel engines as mandated by the federal government on all new diesel engines. The project was approved Jan. 27, 2014, and is projected to cost approximately $402 million. Since inception, Dakota Gas has invested approximately $665 million in plant additions and improvements and product development. For its product, carbon dioxide, the Synfuels Plant marked a milestone in February. The plant delivered its 25-millionth metric ton of carbon dioxide to the Canadian oil fields for enhanced oil recovery.
Dakota Coal Company
D
akota Gas and another subsidiary Dakota Coal Company also reached milestone anniversaries in 2013. Basin Electric created both 25 years ago in 1988. Dakota Gas was created to own and operate the Synfuels Plant and Dakota