Black Hills Corp. (NYSE: BKH) announced that construction has been completed and commercial operations started for the 60-megawatt Busch Ranch II wind project in southern Colorado and the 35-mile Natural Bridge pipeline in eastern Wyoming.
The $71 million wind project was developed by Black Hills Corp.’s power generation segment, Black Hills Electric Generation, LLC, for its affiliate electric utility, Colorado Electric. The project is sited on 13,000 acres south of Pueblo, Colo., in Huerfano and Las Animas Counties. All of the wind project’s energy will be delivered to Colorado Electric through a 25-year power purchase agreement.
Wyoming Gas’ $54 million, 12-inch steel Natural Bridge pipeline connects to new supply points near Douglas, Wyoming, and interconnects to existing facilities near Casper, Wyoming. The new pipeline enhances reliability of supply and provides additional capacity for approximately 57,000 customers in central Wyoming.
“These two projects showcase our commitment to cleaner energy and reliability,” said Linden “Linn” R. Evans, president and CEO of Black Hills Corp. “The Colorado wind project continues our 21st century generation model of clean energy development. For over a decade, we have been modernizing our electric system and growing our renewable energy portfolio to build one of the cleanest energy grids in Colorado, fueled by wind, solar and natural gas generation. The new Wyoming pipeline provides additional capacity and access to new supply to ensure that Black Hills can cost-effectively meet long-term demand for our natural gas customers in the Casper and Riverton areas of Wyoming.”
With the completion of Busch Ranch II, Black Hills Corp. now owns and operates 150 megawatts of wind generation in southern Colorado, all of which serves our electric utility customers with clean, renewable energy. The wind project will help Colorado Electric achieve the state’s Renewable Energy Standard of delivering 30 percent of its energy from renewable resources by 2020. The wind farm will also further the City of Pueblo’s stated intention of providing its local citizens more energy from renewable generation resources.
Black Hills Corporation
Black Hills Corp. (NYSE: BKH) is a customer focused, growth-oriented utility company with a tradition of improving life with energy and a vision to be the energy partner of choice. Based in Rapid City, South Dakota, the company serves 1.27 million natural gas and electric utility customers in eight states: Arkansas, Colorado, Iowa, Kansas, Montana, Nebraska, South Dakota and Wyoming. More information is available at www.blackhillscorp.com.