Basin Electric broke ground May 11 on Bison Generation Station, a gas-fired plant of up to 1,490 megawatts on Highway 2 near the Wheelock substation, out by Ray and Epping in Williams County. It's built to run on locally produced gas, and Basin says the need for it came out of a load forecast that flagged strong oil and gas growth in the Bakken.
Minnkota also just laid out plans for a gas-fired power plant near Fargo that would run on Bakken gas through the planned Bakken East pipe. NextEra and Basin are planning another in Mercer County.
Bison Generation Station
- 2 units at about 745 megawatts each, combined cycle
- Nearly $4 billion, per Basin
- PCL is the general contractor
- Site work started in August 2025
- Peak construction is set for mid-2027 at about 1,000 craft workers and field engineers
- Unit 1 online in early 2029, Unit 2 in 2030
- About 50 full-time jobs once it's running
The Next 2
- Minnkota Power Cooperative out of Grand Forks bought land north of Mapleton for a gas-fired power plant of about 400 megawatts and about $1 billion, CEO Mac McLennan said Oct 6. It could be making power by 2031 or 2032
- The site sits at the end of an existing WBI gas line that Bakken East will tie into. For scale, Minnkota generates about 1,000 megawatts today, mostly from coal plants out west
- River Run Energy Center is NextEra Energy Resources and Basin planning about 1,450 megawatts of combined cycle gas next to the Leland Olds substation in Mercer County, tied to a data center. About $18 billion for the plant and data center together, as of March
- Construction on River Run could start as early as 2027, with power by 2030. NextEra says the plant and data center together would bring over 230 permanent jobs, plus thousands of construction jobs
Add It Up
If all 3 get built, that's about 3,300 megawatts of new gas-fired power. Only Bison is under construction, and River Run's power is meant for its data center.
When the PSC approved the Bison site, Chairman Randy Christmann said it would be the largest single power plant in the state.
What It Means On Location
Mid-2027 is when Bison needs the most hands on site, about 1,000 at once. That's pipefitters, welders, boilermakers, millwrights, electricians, ironworkers and equipment operators, plus everybody hauling to the job.
WBI made its final investment decision on Bakken East Sept 30. Its roughly 350 miles of pipe is expected to go in over the 2028 through 2030 seasons, with 4 new compressor stations.
Bison is built to burn local gas, and Minnkota's plant would pull western North Dakota gas through Bakken East. That's more Bakken gas getting used in state.
It's not next hitch work, and the other 2 still need permits.
The Catch
- River Run is still in design. It needs local zoning plus state permits on air, water and siting, and NextEra says it doesn't have a data center customer yet
- Minnkota's plant still needs regulatory approval, and a Harmony Township landowner is already pushing back over losing farmland
Where It Goes From Here
What to watch...Bison's crew climbing toward its peak, River Run's permits, Minnkota's approvals and Bakken East's first construction season in 2028.
Who's Hiring
This week's board has workover rig, flowback and frac pump seats in North Dakota, some entry level and plenty with no CDL, plus seats in Wyoming and the Permian.
The current board is the one to check.
Field Report
If you've been by the Bison site on Highway 2, drop what you're seeing out there.
Everybody else, drop your basin and what's getting built near you.