Bakken Bust? Basin Doesn't Bite -- The Bakken, North Dakota, USA

Link here.  (A reader alerted me to this story; thank you.)

The most important point in this story was buried near the end: "anticipated construction could start in 2014."

A big company is not going to announce a 190-mile 345-kw transmission line to help meet the energy needs in the Bakken if they didn't think the Bakken was going to be around for awhile.

Basin Electric Power Cooperative, a major player in the coal industry, has just made that announcement.

Basin's in-house projections show that by 2025, demand for electricity in the oil patch will increase another 1,300 megawatts, or about one-fourth of all power produced now in North Dakota.


The new line, as proposed, will run from the co-op's Antelope Valley Station in the heart of Coal Country to the Williston and Tioga region, served by Mountrail-Williams Electric Cooperative, where nearly 90 rigs are drilling.

In surface area, the North Dakota Bakken comprises a relatively small percentage of North Dakota, although that may change a bit over time. And to imagine it will require one-fourth of all power produced (not consumed) in North Dakota.