Black Hills Corp. receive approval to upsize Renewable Ready program

Black Hills Corp. announced that its South Dakota Electric and Wyoming Electric utilities, doing business as Black Hills Energy, received approval from the South Dakota Public Utilities Commission to increase the offering under its Renewable Ready program by 12.5 megawatts and a determination from the Wyoming Public Service Commission that the proposed increase of the Corriedale Wind Energy Project to 52.5 megawatts is within commission rules. With these actions, Black Hills Energy will install five additional wind turbines, increasing the wind project from 40 megawatts to 52.5 megawatts and the project cost from $57 million to $79 million.

“We are pleased with the opportunity to expand our Renewable Ready program, allowing us to meet our customers’ interest in renewable wind energy,” said Linden “Linn” R Evans, president and CEO of Black Hills Corp. “This innovative program expands our clean energy portfolio while meeting our customers’ evolving needs, particularly around cleaner and more sustainable energy.”

During the initial subscription period for the Renewable Ready program, Black Hills Energy received applications of interest from eligible commercial, industrial and governmental agency customers in excess of the program’s 40 megawatts.

To meet this customer interest in renewable energy, South Dakota Electric requested to amend its Renewable Ready Service Tariff to allow for an additional 12.5-megawatts available through an expansion of the Corriedale Wind Energy Project. In addition, the two utilities requested a determination from the Wyoming commission that the utilities could increase the size of the Corriedale wind project pursuant to commission’s rules.

The 52.5-megawatt wind project will be built near Cheyenne, Wyoming, and is expected to be placed in service in late 2020.

Source: https://www.blackhillscorp.com/