Don’t let the charts fool you
Pricing information from the Energy Information Administration provides clues, but it’s not the only indicator
We know that accurate information is imperative to determine the right location for your next data center.
Some information is easy to track down. When looking at Wyoming, it’s fairly straightforward to identify critical factors like Wyoming’s competitive land and development costs, favorable tax incentives, robust fiber capacity and low-risk operating environment.
But the price of energy – one of the single largest costs for data centers - can be a bit more challenging when it comes to making an apples to apples comparison with other markets.
For instance, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration’s most recent pricing data (2018), the average cost of energy for an industrial user across the United States ranges from approximately 4.7 cents per kilowatt hour in Washington state to over 15 cents per kilowatt hour in Rhode Island. When considering a potential Wyoming location, EIA data shows energy pricing in the state to be in the middle of the pack at 6.71 cents per kilowatt hour.
But these statistics aren’t necessarily indicative of the pricing a utility in Wyoming might actually be able to offer larger data center customers.
| 2018 Average Monthly Bill - Industrial | |
|---|---|
| (Data from forms EIA-861-schedules 4A-D, EIA-861S and EIA-861U) | |
| State | Average Price (cents/kWh) |
| Washington | 4.71 |
| Montana | 5.19 |
| Oklahoma | 5.34 |
| Louisiana | 5.35 |
| Texas | 5.39 |
| Arkansas | 5.64 |
| Kentucky | 5.68 |
| Tennessee | 5.68 |
| New Mexico | 5.84 |
| Oregon | 5.86 |
| Utah | 5.90 |
| Mississippi | 6.00 |
| Georgia | 6.00 |
| Alabama | 6.01 |
| New York | 6.02 |
| South Carolina | 6.10 |
| Nevada | 6.10 |
| North Carolina | 6.33 |
| West Virginia | 6.40 |
| Iowa | 6.45 |
| Idaho | 6.47 |
| Arizona | 6.55 |
| Wyoming | 6.71 |
| Illinois | 6.80 |
| Pennsylvania | 6.84 |
| Virginia | 6.86 |
| Ohio | 7.01 |
| Michigan | 7.10 |
| Missouri | 7.22 |
| Wisconsin | 7.33 |
| Indiana | 7.38 |
| Colorado | 7.47 |
| Minnesota | 7.52 |
| Kansas | 7.60 |
| Nebraska | 7.60 |
| Florida | 7.65 |
| South Dakota | 7.77 |
| Delaware | 7.95 |
| North Dakota | 7.98 |
| Maryland | 8.23 |
| District of Columbia | 8.30 |
| Maine | 9.32 |
| New Jersey | 10.07 |
| Vermont | 10.66 |
| California | 13.20 |
| New Hampshire | 13.42 |
| Connecticut | 13.77 |
| Massachusetts | 14.89 |
| Rhode Island | 15.39 |
| Alaska | 17.10 |
| Hawaii | 26.10 |
Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA)
The State of Wyoming allows utilities like Black Hills Energy to implement tariffs that authorize us to negotiate electric rates with qualifying customers. As a result, we have been successful in establishing tariffs that allow us to access market power, including renewables, on behalf of qualifying customers and securing an all-in rate that is extremely competitive with the lowest cost markets in the EIA’s data.
Further, as the overall generation mix continues to change and additional renewables are connected to the grid, we can provide more flexibility to data center customers who are looking for the most cost-effective rate while operating their facilities more sustainably.
When coupled with other significant incentives, such as governmental sales and use tax exemptions on data processing equipment, the economics of data center projects in our Cheyenne, Wyo. service territory are even more favorable.
As geographical regions that have historically attracted data centers are reaching their limits for serving additional loads, and as players in the data center industry begin to consider a geographic distribution of future deployments, new markets are stepping up with competitive options for lower cost energy. We have the tariffs in place to deliver lower cost, renewable energy in a market that also provides access to other key criteria favorable for data center economics. Learn more about what Wyoming can offer your next location.
Contact us to start the conversation about how we can work with you to put these benefits to work for your next data center.