National Grid Renewables announced the start of operation at its Wild Springs Solar Project (Wild Springs) in Pennington County, South Dakota. The largest solar project in South Dakota to date, Wild Springs is a 128 megawatt (MW) solar project located in the Southwest Power Pool (SPP) with a 114 MW Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) with Basin Electric Power Cooperative (Basin Electric).

Commitment to clean energy

“The completion of Wild Springs marks a significant step in our commitment to bringing clean, sustainable energy solutions to the state of South Dakota,” said Blake Nixon, President of National Grid Renewables. “We’re excited to see the impact of this project reach local and state residents through additional tax revenue, charitable contributions, and above all else – clean energy solutions.”

Basin electric's diverse energy portfolio

“Basin Electric has been evaluating solar generation for many years,” Chris Baumgartner, Basin Electric senior vice president of Member and External Relations, said at the event. “We are excited to add solar to our all-of-the-above generation portfolio which includes dispatchable resources such as coal and natural gas and non-dispatchable resources such as wind and now solar. This diverse portfolio allows all these resources to work together to provide the maximum amount of reliability at the lowest-possible cost for our members.”

Economic and community benefits

Last summer, Wild Springs celebrated its groundbreaking with a “Solar Does Good” community event, which highlighted the many benefits for local and state communities. The project is anticipated to provide approximately $29.5 million in direct economic impact over the first 20 years of operations, including $12 million in new tax revenue over the same time period. Additionally, and unique to National Grid Renewables, Wild Springs plans to contribute $500,000 in charitable giving to the local New Underwood school district over the first 20 years of operations.

Jack Trullinger, Mayor of New Underwood, expressed enthusiasm about the addition of the Wild Springs Solar Project to their community, highlighting National Grid Renewables' positive neighborly impact since the project's groundbreaking. He welcomed the anticipated tax revenue and charitable contributions to the local school district as beneficial additions.

Environmental impact

In addition to the economic benefits provided by the project, Wild Springs is anticipated to avoid 190,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions annually – the equivalent to removing roughly 42,000 cars from the road for one year. The project will also generate enough clean, homegrown energy to provide the equivalent electrical usage of an estimated 37,000 homes each year, or 740,000 homes over the first 20 years of operation.

National Grid Renewables continues to lead the charge in sustainable energy solutions, and the Wild Springs Solar Project stands as a testament to their commitment to environmental stewardship and community engagement.