Black Hills Corporation facts for kids
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Black Hills headquarters in Rapid City
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| Public | |
| Traded as |
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| Genre | Energy Company |
| Founded | 1941 |
| Founder | J. B. French |
| Headquarters | , |
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Key people
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Linden Evans (Pres., CEO) |
| Revenue |  US$1.696 Billion (Fiscal Year Ended 31 December 2020) |
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Operating income
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 US$428.303 Million (Fiscal Year Ended 31 December 2020) |
| US$242.763 Million (Fiscal Year Ended 31 December 2020) |
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| Total assets | US$8.088 Billion (Fiscal Year Ended 31 December 2020) |
| Total equity | US$2.662 Billion (Fiscal Year Ended 31 December 2020) |
| Subsidiaries | Black Hills Power Cheyenne Light, Fuel & Power Black Hills Energy Wyodak Resource BH Exploration and Production Enserco Energy |
Black Hills Corporation is an energy company based in Rapid City, South Dakota. It provides electricity and natural gas to homes and businesses in many states. These states include South Dakota, Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, Arkansas, Kansas, Nebraska, and Iowa. The company sells power across the western United States. Its name comes from the beautiful Black Hills area in South Dakota, where it first started.
Contents
History of Black Hills Corporation
The company's story began in 1883. It started as the Black Hills Electric Light Company of Deadwood. In 1905, it joined with another company to become the Consolidated Power and Light Company of South Dakota.
Later, in 1941, Black Hills Power & Light Company was officially formed. This happened by combining two companies: General Public Utilities, Inc. and Dakota Power Company. This new company provided power for most of western South Dakota.
Growth and New Energy Sources
In 1956, Black Hills Power & Light bought the Wyodak Coal Company. This company is now known as Wyodak Resources Development Corporation. This purchase helped the company get involved in mining, oil, and natural gas.
In 2004, Black Hills acquired Cheyenne Light from another energy company. Cheyenne Light still operates as its own part of Black Hills Corporation.
A big change happened in 2007. Black Hills agreed to buy natural gas and electric companies in Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska, and Iowa. This deal was completed in 2008. It greatly increased the number of customers Black Hills served, from 137,000 to 753,000. The number of employees also grew from 916 to 2,000.
In 2015, Black Hills announced another large purchase. They bought a company called SourceGas for $1.89 billion. This added about 425,000 customers in Arkansas, Colorado, Nebraska, and Wyoming. It also included a long natural gas pipeline in Colorado.
Investing in the Future
In 2016, Black Hills shared plans to invest $700 million. They wanted to build a large factory in Norfolk, Nebraska. This factory would make drilling and pipe products. It was expected to create 400 jobs.
Black Hills Energy and Renewable Power
Black Hills Energy works to provide energy that is good for its customers and the environment. They want to find energy sources that are affordable. They also aim to create enough renewable energy to meet state requirements.
Using Cleaner Energy
In 2017, Black Hills Energy asked for ideas for new renewable energy projects. They were looking for up to 60 megawatts of clean energy. This included wind energy and other sources that do not produce greenhouse gases.
As of June 2017, about 19 percent of the electricity from Black Hills Energy in Colorado came from renewable sources. The rest came from natural gas. The company is working to meet customer needs and state laws. They have built new natural gas facilities, wind farms, and solar energy systems. By 2020, they needed to get at least 30 percent of their electricity from renewable resources to follow Colorado state laws.
Black Hills Energy is dedicated to reaching this goal. They believe that developing renewable energy at a fair cost is important for the communities they serve. It also helps them continue to provide safe and reliable energy.
How Black Hills Corporation Works
Black Hills Corporation is made up of several different parts.
- Black Hills Power provides electricity to about 64,200 customers. These customers are located between Rapid City, South Dakota and New Castle, Wyoming, and also in southeastern Montana.
- Cheyenne Light, Fuel & Power Company serves another 80,000 customers. These customers are in Cheyenne, Wyoming and southeastern Wyoming.
- Black Hills Energy has power plants that can produce 1,000 Megawatts of electricity. These plants are in Colorado, Nevada, Wyoming, and California. Two of these plants serve Las Vegas, Nevada.
Energy Sources
A very important part of the company is the Wyodak Mine. This mine is near Gillette, Wyoming, in the Powder River Basin. It is the oldest operating surface mine for coal in the United States. The mine has a lot of coal, with about 286 million tons available.
Black Hills Corporation also has large amounts of oil and natural gas. Most of these reserves are in New Mexico, Colorado, and Wyoming. About 76% of these reserves are natural gas.
See also
- List of S&P 400 companies
