The 60MW Busch Ranch II wind project will supply all of its energy to Colorado Electric for the next 25 years
Image: Black Hills completes 60MW wind farm construction. Photo: Courtesy of Egor Shitikov/Pixabay
Black Hills has completed construction on the 60MW Busch Ranch II wind project in southern Colorado and the 35-mile (56km) Natural Bridge natural gas pipeline in eastern Wyoming.
Built at a cost of $71m, the Busch Ranch II wind project was developed by Black Hills’ power generation segment Black Hills Electric Generation, for its affiliate electricity utility Colorado Electric. It is located on 13,000 acres site south of Pueblo in Huerfano and Las Animas Counties, in Colorado.
All the clean power generated from the wind farm will be sold to Colorado Electric through a 25-year power purchase agreement (PPA).
Busch Ranch II wind project will power 28,000 Colorado homes
Powered by 27 of Vestas turbines, the wind farm will generate enough energy to power 28,000 Colorado homes per year.
After completing the Busch Ranch II wind project, Black Hills now owns and operates 150MW of wind power in southern Colorado, powering the electric utility customers with clean, renewable energy.
The Busch Ranch II wind project will help Colorado Electric in achieving the state’s Renewable Energy Standard of delivering 30% of its energy from renewable resources by 2020.
The wind farm will also support the city of Pueblo in offering its citizens with more renewable energy.
Black Hills also announced the completion of Natural Bridge natural gas pipeline, connecting to new supply points near Douglas and interconnecting to existing facilities near Casper, Wyoming.
The new pipeline strengthens offers additional capacity for nearly 57,000 customers in central Wyoming.
Black Hills Corp president and CEO Linden R. Evans said: “These two projects showcase our commitment to cleaner energy and reliability. 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.”