Stay Basin! Problem solving, supportive coworkers, and unique challenges

Basin Electric appreciates its employees and works hard to retain its workforce. The cooperative understands employees, with their combined knowledge, insight, and hard work, are the ones who make the difference. 

Ed Rademacher’s experience in the engineering field is vast. From starting out as a production engineer in the oil and gas industry to working for an engineering firm that supported the U.S. Army’s chemical warfare weapons destruction facilities, Rademacher brings years of knowledge and expertise to Laramie River Station where he has worked as a mechanical engineer III for nearly seven years. 

Rademacher, a native of Butte, Montana, earned a bachelor’s degree in petroleum engineering and a master’s degree in engineering science from Montana Tech. He holds professional engineering licenses in chemical engineering in both Colorado and Washington. 

When the opportunity to work at Laramie River Station presented itself, he didn’t hesitate to apply. “I was always interested in working at a large power plant, and when Laramie River Station was seeking mechanical engineers, I knew my engineering skills and experience would be a good fit,” Rademacher says.

As a mechanical engineer, Rademacher provides engineering to support operations at the plant. Specifically, he works on what’s called the balance of plant, which includes one dry gas flue gas desulfurization (FGD) scrubber with electrostatic precipitator (ESP) train, two ESP with wet FGD scrubbing trains, and a water treatment plant. He also provides project coordination and plant engineering representation for Headquarters projects at Laramie River.  “I am currently coordinating the completion of a project that relined four coal combustion residual (CCR) ponds to bring the ponds into compliance with new federal CCR rules,” Rademacher says.

A combination of great coworkers and the interesting efforts required to keep the plant functioning is what keeps Rademacher at Laramie River Station. He says one of the best parts of his job is working with the Operations and Maintenance folks to diagnose and solve problems to keep the plant running and generating electricity for members.

When he’s not working at the plant, Rademacher spends as much time as he can working on his ’67 Camaro so that it’s ready to cruise around in or take to local car shows in Wyoming or Nebraska.