Spiritwood Start-Up Date Announced

A $350 million lignite-fired power plant near Jamestown, North Dakota will go online on Jan. 1, 2012, according to a news report today. The plant, known as the Spiritwood Station, is owned by Minnesota-based Great River Energy and originally was set to start up in 2010. The date was postponed due to a weak economy in Minnesota, where most of the electricity will be sold.  Spiritwood is Great River Energy's first baseload power plant built since 1981 and North Dakota's first coal-fired power plant in a quarter century.