Nearly 200 contractors onsite building Pioneer Generation Station Phase IV

Construction has begun on Pioneer Generation Station Phase IV (PGSIV) Basin Electric’s newest generation project near the existing Pioneer Generation Station northwest of Williston, North Dakota.

Trenching and backfilling for underground piping and electrical work is currently taking place, a necessary step before work on the project’s concrete foundation can begin.

“The major objective is to get the buildings erected before winter so work to continue indoors throughout the winter,” says Darrell Slavick, Basin Electric’s North Dakota field coordinator.

Slavick says safety is the main focus throughout the project and nearly 200 contractors are currently onsite working.

Once complete, PGSIV will generate about 600 megawatts of electricity. The new natural gas-fueled generation will be a combination of combustion turbine and reciprocating engine units to provide dispatch flexibility while addressing near-term load growth and long-term grid stability in the Bakken region.

See more construction photos and find out how far contractors had to drill into the ground to help hold the weight of the turbine foundations and why they had to dig a “bathtub” on site in Construction begins on Pioneer generation Station Phase IV in the spring/summer issue of Basin Today.