Black Hills signs $1.8 billion power supply deal with Google, lifting NorthWestern Energy stock
Black Hills Corp. announced a long‑term agreement with Alphabet’s Google to provide electricity for a new data center in Cheyenne, Wyoming. The contract involves a $1.8 billion investment, up to 2.7 GW of power and runs through 2048. The announcement caused NorthWestern Energy Group’s shares to jump sharply, while the merger of the two utilities is still pending regulatory approval and is expected to close by year‑end.
Why it matters
The deal adds a high‑margin, AI‑related revenue stream to the combined utility, which could enhance future earnings and cash flow. Barclays kept an Overweight rating on NorthWestern Energy but trimmed its price target to $70, reflecting the new catalyst while acknowledging remaining merger risk.
Key facts
- 1Black Hills agreed to invest $1.8 billion from 2026 through 2029 to build generation assets for the data center. finance.yahoo.com
- 2The agreement covers 2.7 gigawatts of power, with up to 590 megawatts from Black Hills’ own assets and the remainder from third‑party resources. finance.yahoo.com
- 3The contract is in force through 2048. finance.yahoo.com
- 4The NorthWestern‑Black Hills merger is expected to close by the end of 2026. finance.yahoo.com
- 5Barclays maintained an Overweight rating on NorthWestern Energy and reduced its price target to $70. investing.com
Open questions
- Material 1 reports an 8.4% rise in NWE stock, while material 2 reports a 7% rise; the exact percentage is inconsistent.
Summary written by AlphAI from 2 of 2 sources. Not investment advice. Figures are as stated by the linked sources.