All-of-the-Above Energy Strategy

Nishnabotna Valley REC receives its power from Northwest Iowa Power Cooperative (NIPCO). NIPCO was formed over 70 years ago by seven distribution cooperatives like NVREC in western Iowa to help secure affordable electricity to rural areas by accessing competitive wholesale electricity. Today, NIPCO maintains an electric transmission system consisting of 921 miles of 69kV (69.000 volts) line, 2 source substations, 78 distribution substations, and 18 switching stations throughout western Iowa.

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NIPCO receives 20% of their electric generation from Western Iowa Power Administration (WAPA), headquartered in Watertown, SD. The remaining generation power is supplied by Basin Electric Power Cooperative, headquartered in Bismarck, ND. Basin Electric is an electric generation and transmission cooperative that supplies power to 138 rural electric systems in 9 states.

 

Below is a graph provided by NIPCO to its member-owners to offer a glimpse at Nishnabotna Valley REC’s energy source portfolio.