Black Hills signs $1.8bn deal to power Google data center in Cheyenne
The utility will build 564 MW of its own natural gas generation under agreements running through 2048
Published
Black Hills has signed definitive agreements, effective September 30, 2026, to supply power to a planned Google data center in Cheyenne, Wyoming, under terms that run through 2048.
The company plans to invest $1.8 billion between 2027 and 2029 to build 564 MW of natural gas generation that it will own outright. The project will provide up to 590 MW of grid-connected service and will manage 2.1 gigawatts of third-party contracted resources through a private microgrid. Black Hills expects the project to contribute about $150 million of net income in 2030 and roughly $2.4 billion of unlevered free cash flow through 2048.
Google has given Black Hills $399 million in refundable advances to cover long lead-time equipment. Black Hills expects to reimburse that amount by June 30, 2027.
The structure echoes the agreement Constellation Energy struck with Google on nuclear power, reported the same day: a long-dated supply deal tied to Google's own data center expansion. The difference is ownership. Black Hills is building the generation itself rather than contracting existing capacity, which gives it a direct, multi-decade earnings stream and upfront reimbursement of equipment costs, turning a regulated utility into a capital participant in data center growth rather than a bystander to it. The deal also arrives as Google faces public pressure from President Trump over domestic permitting delays, making a utility-led power buildout in Wyoming a concrete instance of the onshoring he has pushed for.