Black Hills Corp. unit Black Hills Energy secured approval from the South Dakota Public Utilities Commission to increase the output of its Corriedale Wind Energy Project to 52.5 MW.

Black Hills' South Dakota electric utility had requested to amend its renewable ready service tariff to allow for an additional 12.5 MW through an expansion of the project.

Additionally, the Wyoming Public Service Commission determined that the proposed increase is within commission rules.

As a result, Black Hills said Dec. 5 that it will install five additional wind turbines, increasing the project's cost to $79 million from $57 million.

This comes as Black Hills received applications of interest from various customers exceeding the renewable program's 40 MW capacity during the initial subscription period.

The Corriedale project, which will be built near Cheyenne, Wyoming, is expected to be placed in service in late 2020.

The company previously received approvals from regulators in South Dakota and Wyoming for voluntary renewable energy tariffs in July.