Black Hills Corporation saw its stock climb 5.3% on Wednesday after confirming that its 1.8-gigawatt data center project near Cheyenne, Wyoming continues to advance following a change in development partners.
The company stated that, although Crusoe is no longer serving as the development partner on the initiative, the project has not been paused and remains a priority. Black Hills has shifted to working directly with the potential large-load customer to move the program forward and expects service to begin in early 2028.
Company statement
In a public comment, Linn Evans, president and CEO of Black Hills Corp., said: "We remain committed to supporting the project’s data center customer and delivering the infrastructure necessary to meet their long-term energy needs. The 1.8-gigawatt project has not been paused and continues to represent a significant opportunity for the company."
Recent commercial and regulatory steps
According to the company, in April 2026 its Wyoming electric utility subsidiary entered into an agreement with the prospective customer to procure long lead-time generation equipment. The prospective customer has provided in excess of $200 million in refundable contributions in aid of construction to date; those funds correspond to milestone payments intended to secure generation equipment.
Black Hills also executed a substation agreement with the large-load customer and in January 2026 filed a Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity for a substation to support the project. The company expects the data center load to be served under the Wyoming utility’s Large Power Contract Service Tariff.
Implications
The company framed the project as a meaningful opportunity for its business while signalling continued coordination with the prospective customer on financing and infrastructure commitments. Key steps completed to date include procurement arrangements for long lead-time equipment, customer-funded milestone contributions, a substation agreement, and the regulatory filing for the supporting substation.
The company’s updates reflect progress on commercial, supply chain and regulatory fronts as the project moves toward the timeline set for early 2028 service commencement.