A Wyoming-based block reward miner will be the first to benefit from a power tariff proposed four years ago. Known as the Blockchain Interruptible Service Tariff, it provides a $2 credit adjustment per kilowatt-hour. Black Hills Energy became the first power company to strike a deal with a block reward miner under this tariff.
Black Hills Energy, a subsidiary of NYSE-listed Black Hills Corp., announced this week that its Wyoming electric utility had entered into a five-year agreement under which it will provide 45 megawatts of power to MineOne, a miner based in Cheyenne, the largest city in Wyoming. The deal allows the two firms to expand the service to 75 megawatts.
Our Wyoming electric utility, Cheyenne Light, Fuel and Power Company, d/b/a Black Hills Energy, completed its first agreement for service under its Blockchain Interruptible Service Tariff. https://t.co/WIFfGEYq06
— Black Hills Energy (@bhenergy) June 21, 2022
Black Hills expects the operation to be completed by the fourth quarter of this year. Once it launches, the block reward mining facility will be one of the largest operations in the region.
“We are pleased to deliver yet another innovative solution to support business and technology growth in Wyoming while benefiting other Cheyenne customers,” Linn Evans, the president and CEO of Black Hills, commented.
“This agreement is the culmination of Wyoming’s enabling legislation, our unique customer focused Blockchain Interruptible Service Tariff, and our team’s business development efforts. We are excited to serve this new type of customer and to explore the benefits we can provide to other flexible load customers over the longer-term,” he added.
Black Hills, which is based in South Dakota and serves over a million clients in eight states, first proposed the Blockchain Interruptible Service Tariff in 2018. A year later, the Wyoming Public Service Commission approved it at a time when the state was passing several key legislations that aimed to position Wyoming as a top blockchain and digital asset destination in the U.S.
The tariff seeks to attract new large electric loads that cater to blockchain and other industries with high energy demand. Black Hills believes that attracting such companies is a big plus for Wyoming as, in addition to the increased employment opportunities, they generate new taxes for the state.
MineOne and Black Hills also revealed that they would strive to partner to educate the locals about blockchain.
The two “expressed a desire to provide learning sessions and facility tours to help educate various stakeholders and the public about the benefits of blockchain. They are interested in partnering with state universities to provide scholarships for students interested in blockchain technologies,” Black Hills Energy’s Laurie Farkas wrote to the Wyoming Tribune Eagle.
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