Black Hills Energy among finalists for Wyoming Energy Authority hydrogen pilot project

This week, the Wyoming Energy Authority named the finalists up for funding for a hydrogen demonstration pilot, and Black Hills Energy remains one of the top contenders through its Cheyenne Prairie Generating Station.

Cheyenne Prairie is a 132 MW combined cycle natural gas-fired power generation facility. If selected to run the pilot, Black Hills Energy team members would converge there alongside colleagues from General Electric, Black & Veatch, and Tallgrass Energy, LP, to conduct a feasibility study and estimate the potential of natural gas-fed blue hydrogen and green hydrogen fed with renewable energy and water.

“This pilot project at the Cheyenne Prairie Generating Station is an important first step to demonstrate the viability of hydrogen-fueled power generation in Wyoming,” Jason Hartman, Black Hills Energy’s director of power delivery and generation engineering services, said. “Through this project, and in partnership with forward-thinking industry leaders that bring significant technological expertise, we hope to help catalyze the development of large-scale hydrogen production and distribution infrastructure.”

As proposed, the project would also include conceptual engineering for modifying equipment at an existing Cheyenne Prairie turbine to incorporate a mix of hydrogen and methane.

Funding for the project still needs to be approved by the University of Wyoming’s Energy Resources Council, although this should follow later this month. Once approved, Black Hills Energy and its partners would begin the project in Fall 2021 and issue a report by early next year. If deemed feasible, they would then proceed into a second phase in 2023, which would include a hydrogen fuel co-firing demonstration through one of the facility’s turbines.