Black Hills Corp. Purchases 50 Percent Interest in Busch Ranch I Wind Farm
PUEBLO, Colo. - Dec. 11, 2018 - Black Hills Corp. (BKH) today announced that its power generation subsidiary, Black Hills Electric Generation, LLC, completed the purchase of a 50 percent ownership interest in the 29-megawatt Busch Ranch I Wind Farm located near Pueblo, Colorado, for approximately $16 million from AltaGas Power Holdings (U.S.) Inc. Black Hills Colorado Electric, an affiliate utility company doing business as Black Hills Energy, owns the remaining 50 percent ownership and operates the wind farm.
The Busch Ranch I Wind Farm is located 30 miles south of Pueblo, Colo., in Huerfano County, and consists of 16 wind turbines. All of the energy from the wind farm has been serving the 96,000 customers of Colorado Electric since operations began in October 2012. Black Hills Electric Generation will provide its share of energy from the wind farm to Colorado Electric through an existing long-term power purchase agreement that expires in October 2037.
"This purchase by our power generation business continues our strategy of owning and operating both utility and independent power generation facilities to serve our electric utility customers," said Linn Evans, president and chief operating officer of Black Hills. "The purchase of additional renewable wind resources broadens our company`s generation mix to better serve the needs of our utility customers while delivering long-term value for our shareholders."
Black Hills Electric Generation recently received approval from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to purchase the Busch Ranch I ownership interest. In addition, Black Hills Electric Generation is currently constructing the 60-megawatt Busch Ranch II wind project at an adjacent location, which is expected to begin serving Colorado Electric customers by year-end 2019 through a 25-year power purchase agreement.
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Black Hills Corporation
Black Hills Corp. (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 1.25 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.
Investor Relations
Jerome E. Nichols
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jerome.nichols@blackhillscorp.com
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Caution Regarding Forward Looking Statement
This news release includes "forward-looking statements" as defined by the Securities and Exchange Commission, or SEC. We make these forward-looking statements in reliance on the safe harbor protections provided under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. All statements, other than statements of historical facts, included in this news release that address activities, events or developments that we expect, believe or anticipate will or may occur in the future are forward looking statements. This includes Black Hills Electric Generation`s ability to serve Colorado Electric`s long-term customer needs with renewable energy from the Busch Ranch wind farms. These forward-looking statements are based on assumptions which we believe are reasonable based on current expectations and projections about future events and industry conditions and trends affecting our business. However, whether actual results and developments will conform to our expectations and predictions is subject to a number of risks and uncertainties that, among other things, could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in the forward-looking statements, the risk factors described in Item 1A of Part I of our 2017 Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the SEC, and other reports that we file with the SEC from time to time.
New factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those described in forward looking statements emerge from time-to-time, and it is not possible for us to predict all such factors, or the extent to which any such factor or combination of factors may cause actual results to differ from those contained in any forward-looking statement. We assume no obligation to update publicly any such forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
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Source: Black Hills Corporation via GlobeNewswire
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