Black Hills Corp. Utility to Purchase 60-Megawatt Peak View Wind Project

Black Hills Corp. (NYSE: BKH) announced that subsidiary Black Hills Energy - Colorado Electric has received approval from the Colorado Public Utilities Commission to purchase a 60-megawatt wind project to be constructed in southern Colorado. The estimated cost of the project is $109 million, including taxes, transmission infrastructure and interconnection costs.

Black Hills Energy selected the Peak View Wind Project through a competitive solicitation process. The wind project will be built approximately 30 miles south of Pueblo, Colorado, in Huerfano and Las Animas counties. In addition to commission approval, Black Hills Energy has executed a build-transfer agreement with Invenergy Wind Development Colorado, LLC. The project will be completed in late 2016 and will be operated as a utility-owned asset.

This project is not subject to a general rate case for the first ten years of operation. Black Hills Energy will recover its investments through customer billing adjustment clauses during that time. The revenue requirement was determined using the most recent commission-authorized capital structure, including a return on equity of 9.83 percent, and a capital structure of 49.83 percent equity and 50.17 percent debt.

"The wind project's site was chosen for its cost competitiveness, high-potential wind resources and proximity to our existing transmission system," said Linn Evans, Black Hills Corp.'s president and COO of utilities. "We provide safe, reliable energy at a fair rate to customers while providing a good rate of return for our shareholders. The Peak View Wind Project will help meet each of those priorities."

"Colorado has a wealth of renewable resources and is an incredibly important market for us," said Mick Baird, Invenergy's Vice President of Business Development in the Western Region. "Peak View will provide long-term, clean renewable energy to Colorado customers and we're pleased Black Hills Energy wants to take ownership of this great project."

Black Hills determined through extensive due diligence that the wind project was the most cost-effective solution to meet customer energy needs while helping the company to comply with Colorado's renewable energy requirement that 30 percent of its electricity come from renewable resources by 2020.

Black Hills/Colorado Electric Utility Company, LP d/b/a Black Hills Energy

Black Hills Energy serves 95,000 electric customers in 21 southeastern Colorado communities. Black Hills Energy is a subsidiary of Black Hills Corp. (NYSE: BKH).

Black Hills Corporation

Black Hills Corp. (NYSE: BKH) is a growth-oriented, vertically-integrated energy company with a tradition of improving life with energy and a vision to be the energy partner of choice. Based in Rapid City, S.D., the company serves 792,000 natural gas and electric utility customers in Colorado, Iowa, Kansas, Montana, Nebraska, South Dakota and Wyoming. The company also generates wholesale electricity and produces natural gas, oil and coal. Black Hills Corp.'s more than 2,000 employees form partnerships and produce positive results for our customers, communities and shareholders. More information is available at www.blackhillscorp.com.

About Invenergy

Invenergy and its affiliated companies develop, own, and operate large-scale renewable and other clean energy generation and storage facilities in the Americas, and Europe. Invenergy is committed to continued innovation in clean power solutions. Invenergy's home office is located in Chicago and it has regional development offices in the United States, Canada, Mexico, Japan, and Europe.

Invenergy and its affiliated companies have developed more than 9,100 MW of projects that are in operation, in construction, or under contract, including 76 wind, solar, and natural gas-fueled power generation projects and energy storage facilities. For more information, please visit www.invenergyllc.com.

Caution Regarding Forward-Looking Statement

This news release includes "forward-looking statements" as defined by the Securities and Exchange Commission, or SEC. We make these forward-looking statements in reliance on the safe harbor protections provided under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. All statements, other than statements of historical facts, included in this news release that address activities, events or developments that we expect, believe or anticipate will or may occur in the future are forward looking statements, including the estimated project costs and timeline. These forward-looking statements are based on assumptions which we believe are reasonable based on current expectations and projections about future events and industry conditions and trends affecting our business. However, whether actual results and developments will conform to our expectations and predictions is subject to a number of risks and uncertainties that, among other things, could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in the forward-looking statements, including the factors discussed above, the risk factors described in Item 1A of Part I of our 2014 Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the SEC, and other reports that we file with the SEC from time to time.