Black Hills Commissions 60 MW Wind Project in Colorado

Black Hills has announced that construction has been completed and commercial operations started for the 60 MW Busch Ranch II wind project in southern Colorado

Black Hills Corporation has announced that construction has been completed and commercial operations started for the 60-megawatt (60 MW) Busch Ranch II wind project in southern Colorado.

The USD 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, Colorado, 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.

The firm has also announced the commercial operation of a 35-mile Natural Bridge pipeline in eastern Wyoming.

“These two projects showcase our commitment to cleaner energy and reliability,” said Linden 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 modernising our electric system and growing our renewable energy portfolio to build one of the cleanest energy grids in Colorado, fuelled 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, the firm now owns and operates 150 MW of wind generation in southern Colorado, all of which serve its electric utility customers with clean, renewable energy. The wind project will also 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.