Black Hills Power, a unit of Black Hills Corp. (NYSE: BKH), is cancelling a $38 million, 20 MW wind farm it planned to build near Belle Fourche, S.D., after the South Dakota Public Utilities Commission dismissed its request for a ruling that the project was cost-effective and reasonable. The utility said the expiration of federal tax credits in 2012 played a role in its decision.
South Dakota does not have a statutory procedure for utilities to seek commission pre-approval before constructing generation facilities. Black Hills Power filed a request for a declaratory ruling, an alternative procedure aimed at soliciting a finding from the commission regarding the wind farm project before construction.
In its order to dismiss the request for a declaratory ruling, the commission said that it lacks the legal statutory authority to make such a determination.
