| Entity | Black Hills Corp. |
|---|---|
| Counterparty | |
| Date | 30 Sep 2026 |
| Status | Executed |
| Instrument | Large Power Contract Services Agreement (LPCSA); Generation Facilities Agreement (GFA); EX-99.1 |
| Region | U.S. & Allies |
Black Hills Corp. signed definitive agreements effective Sept. 30, 2026, with terms through 2048, to serve a planned Google data center in Cheyenne, Wyoming. The resource mix is 2.7 GW, including reserve margins: up to 590 MW of grid-connected service and about 2.1 GW of Wyoming-based third-party resources on a private microgrid. Energy service is planned for late 2027, with peak load in 2030; company-owned gas generation of 564 MW is planned at $1.8 billion between 2027 and 2029.
Who this affects
- For exporters: Not addressed in the record.
- For investors: Black Hills expects a return on the generation investment when construction begins in 2027, microgrid management fee revenue from late 2027, about $150 million of net income in 2030, and about $2.4 billion of unlevered free cash flow through 2048, net of $1.8 billion of generation capital investment.
- For counsel/compliance: The instruments are a Large Power Contract Services Agreement and a Generation Facilities Agreement, plus a generation reservation agreement under which Google provided $399 million of refundable advances that Black Hills expects to reimburse by June 30, 2027. The Generation Facilities Agreement provides for full recovery of generation capital over the contract term; the release also cites cost pass-through, early-termination, and credit-assurance provisions, and flags conditions precedent and termination rights in its forward-looking statement.
- For policymakers: Wyoming items already on the record are a Robinson substation certificate of public convenience and necessity approved in May 2026, an industrial siting permit for the Cheyenne Prairie Generating Station expansion filed in July 2026, an air quality permit approved in August 2026, a Large Customer Transmission Cost Adjustment Mechanism filed in June 2026, and a South Cheyenne Transmission Expansion certificate filed in September 2026. A Wyoming transmission expansion certificate is to be filed in the fourth quarter of 2026.
The read
The 2.7 GW figure is a resource mix, not utility-owned capacity, and it excludes additional transmission expansion. Of the grid slice, 564 MW nameplate is new natural gas at the existing Cheyenne Prairie Generating Station, owned through a non-regulated affiliate; the other 26 MW is market purchases plus retail service under the industrial tariff.
The 2.1 GW block is third-party contracted resource output that Black Hills manages under its Large Power Contract Service tariff, for a negotiated microgrid management fee tied to a contracted minimum peak load.
Cost isolation is contractual: the company states Google bears all costs of serving the data center, with stranded-asset recovery written into the Generation Facilities Agreement through a 2048 depreciation end date. Near-term cash is the $399 million equipment advance, due back by June 30, 2027, ahead of late-2027 energy service.
What was the action?
On Oct. 6, 2026, Black Hills announced that it had signed a Large Power Contract Services Agreement and a Generation Facilities Agreement, effective Sept. 30, 2026 and running through 2048, to serve a planned Google data center in Cheyenne.
What’s the penalty / scope, and how is it set?
There is no penalty. Scope is service to the planned data center: a 2.7 GW resource mix including reserve margins; up to 590 MW of grid-connected energy from company-owned generation and market energy; and management of about 2.1 GW of third-party contracted resources on a private microgrid. Black Hills plans to invest $1.8 billion from 2027 to 2029 for 564 MW nameplate of company-owned natural gas generation. The microgrid fee is a negotiated rate on a contracted minimum peak load that is expected to start in 2027 and rise on the contract ramp. Generation capital is to be fully depreciated by 2048.
Who else is exposed?
Not named. The 2.1 GW block is described only as Wyoming-based, third-party contracted resources. Existing retail customers are the protection counterparty in the contract design: the company states data-center costs do not shift to them. Transmission work for this project and other regional large-load opportunities sits outside the stated resource mix and is still in filing.
What happens next
Black Hills expects to reimburse the $399 million advances by June 30, 2027, begin construction and a return on generation investment in 2027, start energy service and microgrid fees in late 2027, and reach peak load in 2030. The open filing is the Wyoming transmission expansion certificate, scheduled for the fourth quarter of 2026. The industrial siting permit is filed, not stated as approved. The release conditions expected timing on regulatory and licensing approvals, conditions precedent, termination rights, and counterparty performance.
Importantly, these agreements and supporting regulatory mechanisms are structured so that Google bears all costs associated with serving the planned data center throughout the life of the project.