2026 ENERGY TRAIL TOUR
We are happy to report that the educational power supply tours sponsored by Western Iowa Power Cooperative and NIPCO, the Cooperative’s power supplier, are back!
The tours give members the opportunity for a brief look at electric cooperative history and gain new understanding and pride in their ownership of the Cooperative. The tours are part of WIPCO’s commitment to providing education for directors, employees, and member-owners. WIPCO members can enter their names in a drawing for the trip by filling out the application and returning it to a WIPCO office by April 25, 2026.
What's it all about?
Tour the Oahe Dam and Powerhouse in Pierre, SD. One of the world’s largest earth-rolled dams, Oahe Dam and Lake provides more than $371 million in annual benefits to the American people. Other authorized benefits include flood control, power generation, recreation, navigation support, and fish and wildlife enhancement. Seven turbine generators at the Oahe Powerhouse generate a maximum capacity of 118.2 megawatts of electricity, which is enough to power the annual electric needs of 259,000 homes.
Learn about the Great Plains Synfuels Dakota Gasification Company Plant, the only commercial-scale coal gasification plant in the country that manufactures natural gas using the Lurgi gasification technology. Located NW of Beulah, ND, it is capable of producing 13 products, including synthetic natural gas (SNG), ammonium sulfate, anhydrous ammonia, carbon dioxide, cresylic acid, krypton and xenon gases, liquid nitrogen, naphtha, phenol, tar oil, and urea.
Tour the Dakota Coal Company Freedom Mine, which delivers approximately 16 million tons of lignite coal per year, making it the largest mine in the US in deliveries. The mine reclaims about 600 acres of land annually. Here you’ll learn how lignite coal is produced at a surface mine and how the land is reclaimed according to strict high environmental preservation standards. A guided drive-through tour will bring you into active mining areas where you can see giant earth moving equipment in action.
Tour the Antelope Valley Station, the newest coal-based power plant in North Dakota. Its two units, each rated at 450 megawatts, are designed to be environmentally sound. Basin Electric consistently invests in environmental control technologies for all of its facilities. At the Antelope Valley Station, you’ll learn how electricity is made. The tour includes an overview of the model room, and a guided walking tour of the power plant with stops at the turbine deck, control room, boiler, and observation deck on the 17th floor!
Energy Trail Tour Sign-Up Form
Western Iowa Power Cooperative and Northwest Iowa Power Cooperative invite you to join us for one of three Energy Trail Tours being offered this summer. This 3-day adventure will allow you to experience, first-hand, how your power providers convert energy from water, wind, and coal into electricity. View coal being mined and see how those mines are then returned to productive farmland and native grasslands. Enjoy interactive walking tours through a hydroelectric and coal-fired energy generation facility and other stops along the way. Meet other cooperative member-owners while traveling together across the Dakotas on a motor coach bound for North Dakota's Energy Loop. This year's tour cost is $200 per couple, which covers lodging, meals, and entry fees. Upon completion of the trip, $100 will be refunded to you as a credit on your WIPCO electric bill. The remaining cost of your tour is covered by WIPCO. Nine lucky couples will be selected at random from those who sign up.