Robert Kissel moved from Denver to get away from noise, settling on a ranchette along Horse Creek Road northwest of Cheyenne.
Until now, the historically rural, agricultural neighborhood has delivered on the promise of peace and quiet. It’s a place where nobody has to talk to anybody for days, if they don’t want to, Kissel likes to joke.
It seems that his reprieve from Colorado noise may be much more short-lived than hoped.
Kissel has learned recently that Black Hills Energy has bought a 935-acre piece of land for what he described as a “huge” natural gas power plant with onsite battery storage, according to notices sent to adjacent landowners.
The project will trigger a multi-year Wyoming Industrial Siting Division review process, even as Black Hills Energy pursues a multibillion-dollar merger with Northwestern Energy.
Kissel learned of the project from a neighbor who received a notice from the company. The notices went out only to adjacent landowners, inviting them to an information forum.
Kissel himself didn’t receive one of the invitations, though he lives nearby. But he decided to go to the meeting anyway to learn what he could, as did several other landowners in the area who did not receive notices.
“It was a very contentious meeting,” Kissel said. “Not one of the 40 or so who came were in support.”
Historic Ranch Community
For decades, Horse Creek has been known as a historic agricultural community. Big land deals usually meant one rancher quietly buying another rancher’s pasture to grow more livestock.
Lately, however, Horse Creek has been attracting deals of a very different nature.
Real estate agent Wendy Volk, who is a member of the historic Dereemer Ranch family, said even she has been shocked by the “magnitude of what’s coming to southeast Wyoming.”
In 31 years of selling property, Volk said she’s never seen anything like it.
“Times are changing in a lot of places,” she said. “But boy, for being the least populated place, it feels like we have a target on our — I mean it feels like we’re just inviting people to come in and exploit our resources.”
Because large tracts of land are available, Horse Creek has become a nexus for some of these larger deals, Volk said.
Just recently, for example, the Laramie County Planning Commission and the Laramie County Board of County Commissioners approved a rock quarry expansion.
Then there was the Laramie Range Wind Project, which proposed building 170 wind turbines adjacent to Volk’s property.
Volk has spoken publicly against the project, which she said has become part of a swath of wind turbines cutting across a 200-mile swath of Wyoming.
Laramie County commissioners have so far denied the company’s application — though the company is appealing that decision.
Before that, there was also a proposed bitcoin mining operation that tried to locate in the area, Kissel said. The community banded together and hired an attorney to fight that, too.
Volk worries that such large-scale industrial projects will permanently change the historic character of the Horse Creek neighborhood and price traditional ranchers and local builders out of the market for workable land.
“I’m not against economic development,” she said. “But I want to make sure we’re doing it wisely, that we’ve got a plan, and that this is part of a big-picture plan, because you know that somebody at these multinational companies has a plan.
"They’re looking at this at the 30,000-foot level.”
Closed-Door Meeting
Black Hills Energy did not respond to Cowboy State Daily’s requests for more information about the project, but said it’s committed to following all applicable regulatory requirements.
"We are in the early stages of planning for a potential generation project and beginning to meet with landowners directly adjacent to the property,” an emailed statement said. "As a regulated public utility, we will follow all local and state requirements should the project advance.
"We are committed to stewardship, transparency and public engagement and will provide more information as plans develop."
In the letter sent to Kissel’s neighbor, Black Hills said it “periodically” makes land purchases within its service territory so it can be “ready to serve the growing energy needs of our customers.”
The sale of this tract at 1720 Horse Creek Road was completed earlier in the year for a future power generation project.
“We are committed to being a good neighbor and wanted to take this opportunity to share our preliminary plans with you, so we can address any questions you may have” at an informational meeting Monday night.
“This meeting is for neighboring landowners only, and will not be open to the public,” the letter added. “We will have members of our Black Hills Energy team on hand to discuss different aspects of our project, including the proposed natural gas generation and battery storage technologies under consideration for the site.”
Lengthy Permitting Process
Cowboy State Daily asked to attend the meeting but was denied.
In a recording of a portion of the meeting obtained by Cowboy State Daily, a Black Hills Energy official says the company plans future open houses in October, at which time it will disclose additional work that will be happening at the site, as well as the different requirements of its permits.
“That starts the clock ticking,” the representative is heard saying on the recording. “We have at least 60 days to collect comments, respond to comments, and then, eventually, after 60 days we have the option for sending in a permit application to the state.”
The state’s review process typically takes 20 days, after which the company will respond to comments as they arrive to the Department of Environmental Quality.
“After that’s done, then we can start meeting with the Industrial Siting Committee after that … so it’s a very lengthy process,” the representative said.
Timeline wise, Black Hills Energy officials estimated it would be two years before the company could break ground on the project, assuming its permits are approved.
Neighbors Fear Data Centers
The battery storage is particularly concerning to Kissel.
In his mind, he said that, “The only reason you’d do that is to put a data center there, to power it."
Black Hills Energy has not confirmed any data centers for the site. Battery storage is increasingly paired with many kinds of power generation, not just server farms.
Still, the lack of detail about the project has unnerved Kissel and his neighbors, given the influx of between 43 to 70 potential data centers in Laramie County, depending on which estimates one uses.
Kissel said he and other residents were told the project is in preliminary stages, and thus too new to share any details, including the size and scope of the project.
Any future permit applications would have to outline water use, emissions, and other impacts in more detail.
In any case, Kissel feels that the Horse Creek neighborhood is an odd choice for either power generation or a data center.
“This is a rural residential area with many expensive homes with 5- to 40-acre parcels,” he said. “There are no commercially zoned sites for miles in any direction.”
There are also no natural gas wells anywhere nearby, he said.
“Water for cooling would have to come from aquifers in such quantities it could affect domestic wells for many miles around,” he said, adding that areas south and east of town are closer to a suitable fiber optic trunk line.
“We’re a long ways from having a connection that powerful up here,” he said. “So it just doesn’t make a whole lot of sense, but they’re looking for big pieces of ground for cheap money.”
Utility With Big Ambitions
With Black Hills Energy in the midst of a $15.4 billion merger with Montana’s largest monopoly utility, Northwestern Energy, some Horse Creek residents worry that they’re no longer dealing with just a local utility company that they know well, but a much larger, multi-state corporation that is viewing their community as just another convenient spot on a regional power grid.
The merger between the two companies has been proceeding on schedule so far, with shareholders approving the all-stock, tax-free merger deal in April.
The expected closing is sometime in the latter half of 2026, subject to regulatory approvals.
The new combined company is to be named Bright Horizon Energy Corp. and will be headquartered in South Dakota. Black Hills will own 56% of the new company, while Northwestern will own the remaining 44%.
According to information on Northwestern Energy’s website about the merger, the combined company expects to serve 2.1 million customers across eight contiguous states.
The size and scale of the new company is expected to help drive operating and cost optimization across the combined enterprise.
The investment plans for the combined company from 2025 to 2029 exceeds $7 billion, and will focus on growing critical infrastructure to meet rising energy demands, while ensuring competitive rates for customers. The target growth rate is between 5% to 7% — more than either company could do alone.
No single jurisdiction within the company’s combined territory, which includes Wyoming, will represent more than one-third of the company’s business.
Renée Jean can be reached at renee@cowboystatedaily.com.
